Even Though Nose Tackle Casey Hampton Has Restructured His Contract, the Pittsburgh Steelers Shouldn’t Shift Focus in 2012 NFL Draft
On Friday, March 16th, Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton became the sixth player to restructure his contract in order to create more salary cap room for the franchise. The other players to do so are Willie Colon, Ben Roethlisberger, Ike Taylor, Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley.
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the restructuring of Hampton’s contract created about $3 million more under the cap, and pretty much guarantees that the 11-year veteran will be with the Steelers in 2012.
With that being said, Pittsburgh still shouldn’t forget that nose tackle is a major priority in this upcoming 2012 NFL Draft. Hampton is still recovering from offseason surgery to repair an ACL tear that he suffered in the wildcard loss to the Denver Broncos in January.
It isn’t likely that the soon-to-be 35-year-old will hold up an entire season on that left knee, and some much needed depth in the interior of the defensive line would greatly benefit Hampton and the rest of the defense.
Personally, I think that General Manager Kevin Colbert should address the nose tackle position in either the first or the second round of the draft. More than likely, the Steelers will be able to get the nose tackle that will fit in their 3-4 scheme in the second round, assuming that University of Memphis nose tackle Dontari Poe will be off of the board by the time Pittsburgh are on the clock at pick 24.
The next best player that will fit the mold should be 6’3”, 348-pound University of Washington nose tackle Alameda Ta’amu.
Follow me on Twitter @ClydeASpeller
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