If the Steelers use a franchise tag on nose tackle Casey Hampton they will have to offer the unrestricted free agent a one-year deal worth just over $7 million.

Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton said "it will be a problem" if the Steelers use a franchise tag instead of signing him to a multi-year deal.

The 2009 Pro Bowl rosters were announced yesterday. A grand total of two Pittsburgh Steelers were selected to the team. James Harrison was named a starter, his third selection in as many years. Casey Hampton was chosen as a reserve NT (behind the

When the Steelers didn’t come to Casey Hampton during the offseason with a contract extension, he knew exactly what that meant.

Casey Hampton reacted to Internet rumors that the Steelers will release him before the start of the regular season.

As Steelers coach Mike Tomlin delivered a conditioning message last week, one of his targets was nose tackle Casey Hampton.

Building a championship football team takes a mix of veterans and youth, superstars and role players. It’s a delicate recipe that requires just the right balance.

This blending of ingredients takes place during free agency and ends with the draft. In the last four years, no team has done a better job of mixing and matching talent than the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The superstars are well known.

Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, James Harrison, and Troy Polamalu have gotten all the glory during Pittsburgh’s run to Super Bowl titles in two of the last four seasons. Nothing wrong with that. They are stars in the league and deserve all the accolades they’ve received.

But without the role players, the unsung performers who give it their all, championship rings and the Lombardi Trophy wouldn’t belong to the Steel City right now.

Guys like Brett Keisel, Santonio Holmes, LaMarr Woodley, Heath Miller, and Casey Hampton have emerged in recent seasons and are important cogs in the Steeler machine.

As a new season fast approaches, who will be Pittsburgh’s breakout players and newcomers to look out for in 2009?

Here are seven to keep an eye on.

All three starters on the Steelers’ defensive line are in their 30s. Yet, Casey Hampton scoffs at the notion that the clock is ticking on a group that has been vital to the team’s success.

Casey Hampton said he had an ok season — little o, little k. That’s opposed to a typical season for Hampton, who appeared in four Pro Bowls.