The Pittsburgh Steelers are keeping starting left guard Ramon Foster in the fold as well and he will not become an unrestricted free agent next Thursday.
According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers signed Foster to a two-year $8.25 million contract on Thursday.
Foster, who officially joined the Steelers in 2009 as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee, has started 131 total games for Pittsburgh during his career. He is the oldest Steelers offensive lineman on the roster and this new contract virtually ensures he’ll end his career in Pittsburgh with the Steelers.
“It’s good to have it over with,” said Foster, according to Teresa Varley of steelers.com. “The Steelers have been our home for over a decade now. It’s awesome to be able to extend my career there, also my family. It’s always been a second home to us. We are excited. When we started talking we got it done quick because both sides wanted to get it done. It’s definitely a relief.”
Foster being re-signed now means that there’s a good chance the Steelers will have all of their offensive linemen back from last season. The Steelers recently tendered contracts to backups B.J. Finney and Matt Feiler and also re-signed tackle Zach Banner earlier in the offseason. The only real question at this point is if the team will let tackle Marcus Gilbert play out the final year of his contract.
Heading into this offseason Foster had career earnings of just over $18 million. If he now plays oput his new contract, he’ll end his career having earned nearly $27.5 million.
