PITTSBURGH – He is still the Casey Hampton that made him a fan favorite in Pittsburgh and even more beloved in his own locker room. A roll-with-it guy who is just fine ceding the stage to his teammates.
He showed that again at the launch of Dick LeBeau’s book, “Legendary: The 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers Defense, The Zone Blitz, And My Six Decades In The NFL.”
During a panel discussion Sunday at the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, Brett Keisel was alternately answering a question and firing up Steelers fans – he is terrific at both – when Hampton turned to me.
“Man, he loves this shit,” he said.
His smile said it all. The more Keisel or LeBeau or Chris Hoke talked, the less the spotlight would be on him. Once a nose tackle, always a nose tackle.
And Hampton was a generational one. Teams simply could not run on the Steelers after they drafted Hampton in 2001. The Texas product is one of the sneaky-great first-round picks in franchise history. He made five Pro Bowls in 11 NFL seasons and probably still did not receive enough credit for his work outside of Pittsburgh.
He was that good.
There is one big difference between the Casey Hampton who wrecked interior offensive lines and the Casey Hampton who does not disrupt much more than where he fishes these days.
He is “Big Snack” no more.
Not even close.
“Just eating right, living right, working out,” Hampton told Steelers Depot about his slimmed-down physique. “Just put my health first and got on top of it.”
Did he ever.
Hampton was always listed in Steelers media guides at 325 pounds but that was from his rookie year. He conceded that was the last time he played at 325 pounds. As for how much weight Hampton has dropped since retiring – and it has to be in the triple digits – the Houston-area resident is coy.
“Undisclosed,” he said with a smile. “I’m going to give it out one of these days.”
Hampton was willing to share his opinion on how he thinks the Steelers will fare in 2024. He said don’t sleep on them after offseason moves such as the signings of QB Russell Wilson and LB Patrick Queen.
“I think we finally got a quarterback. Now we finally got a linebacker,” Hampton said. “We’ve had some linebackers that are very, very solid but [Queen] really can play. I think a lot is going to rely on the health of Cam [Heyward] and T.J. [Watt]. As long as they can stay healthy, the quarterback plays well and we run the ball and do our thing, we should be alright. I think we’re going to be a lot better than people think.”
