In Pittsburgh, Mahan becomes the center of attention

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, March 29, 2007  |  Comments( 2 )

Pittsburgh Steelers
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As every Pittsburgh Steeler fan knows, the team has had just four starting centers since 1964 -- Ray Mansfield, Mike Webster, Dermontti Dawson and Jeff Hartings.

At age 26, Sean Mahan might be sticking around for a few years, as well.

The Steelers lured the 6-foot-3, 301-pound free agent away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this month. And while Mahan has played guard for the Bucs since 2005, he seems to have risen to the top of the short list to replace Hartings, whose bad knees finally forced him into retirement.

The beauty of acquiring Mahan, Pittsburgh's only free agent addition so far, is that it helps the team in at least two positions. The Notre Dame grad, picked in the fifth round by Tampa Bay in 2003, performed on the first unit at center and both guard positions in his Buccaneer career, starting 12 games at left guard last season when Dan Buenning went down with an injury and all 16 at right guard the year before.

Mahan signed a contract for five years -- and while exact terms of the deal were not immediately released, it was reportedly too much money to pay him to be a backup. Still, he'll have spirited competition for the center job from Chukky Okobi (whose career nearly ended with a preseason neck injury last August) and Marvin Philip. Prior to Mahan's signing, there was also talk of trying guard Kendall Simmons at center, as well.

Chances are at least one of the losers in the battle to replace Hartings will be moved to guard, one of the thinnest positions on the Steelers' roster. Simmons and Chris Kemoeatu are the only right guards listed, multiple All-Pro Alan Faneca is alone on the depth chart on the left side. Mahan brings flexibility and injury insurance -- and someone for Pittsburgh's Irish community to root for ("Aye, pancake 'em, Sean!").

Somewhere, Ben Roethlisberger is smiling.

Original Pittsburgh Steelers coverage, courtesy of RealFootball365.com
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