Steelers Sign Free Agent Center Justin Hartwig

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers signed seven-year veteran free agent center Justin Hartwig to a two-year contract, the team announced today. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hartwig (6-4, 312) spent the past two seasons with the Carolina Panthers after playing his first four seasons with the Tennessee Titans. He was originally drafted by the Titans in the sixth round (187^th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft out of Kansas and was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Panthers during the 2006 offseason.

Hartwig started 47 games at center in his four seasons with the Titans, including all 16 games in both 2003 and 2005. In 2006 with the Panthers, Hartwig started in just one game before being placed on the Reserve/Injured List. He returned to start 15 games in 2007 in Carolina and helped the Panthers rank sixth in the NFC in rushing.