The odd man out on the defensive line...

[steelerfan513]

Both Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel have expiring contracts, and with the little cap room the Steelers have left, they can probably only afford to keep one of them. I guessed it would be Keisel to leave, but I guess I was wrong about that.

Keisel, Steelers nearing 5-year extension

Looks like Hampton is gone; I hope Ryan Clark doesn't have to leave also.

[Munboy]

I'm not all that surprised. Hampton is coming off the field more and more lately, and he's showing up to camp out of shape (even failing the physical last year). He can still stuff up the middle, but his usefulness is waning. At 30, I'm surprised the Steelers signed Keisel for such a long contract. My guess is he won't see those 5 years. Hood will be waiting in the wings, but we'll have to see which DE goes first. Smith is an anchor on the line, very reliable, but at 33-34, its a question of when his performance will start to decline.

And yes, I will be bummed to see Clark go. I wanted Hope to stay, but Clark as done a good job, and he's one of the hardest hitting safeties in the league.