The Pittsburgh Steelers proved in Week 1 they have Dennis Dixon’s back. Veterans Hines Ward and James Farriorcalled upon their teammates to pick up the young quarterback in his second career start.

The Steelers have reached an agreement with NT Casey Hampton on a new contract, director of football operations Kevin Colbert announced Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed DT Casey Hampton to a three-year, $21.3 million deal, and will place a franchise tag on kicker Jeff Reed on Thursday, according to a league source.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are making significant progress on a multi-year deal with NT Casey Hampton, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The Steelers are planning to use their franchise tag on NT Casey Hampton and their transition tag on K Jeff Reed, barring a late breakthrough in contract negotiations, according to a league source.

Despite the obvious discord between Adalius Thomas and coach Bill Belichick, the LB is still a member of the Patriots, a situation the Boston Globe‘s Albert Breer attributes to a front-loaded contract that behooves the Patriots to keep Thomas on the roster at least until the new league year begins on March 5.

Steve Smith says the Panthers could use some help in the form of a speedy receiver to compliment his game.

Jeff Reed missed two field goals in the fourth quarter of the Steelers’ loss to the Chicago Bears, which turned out to be the difference for the defending champs. But John Harris of the Tribune-Review writes that it’s too easy to blame Reed.

It looks as though the Steelers narrowly avoided a major injury during their final practice of training camp when QB Ben Roethlisberger injured his right foot or ankle.