The Steelers fought off the New England Patriots in order to keep cornerback Deshea Townsend.
Deshea Townsend | Cornerback
Pittsburgh Steelers Profile | 2005 SEASON STATISTICS | Tot | Ast | Solo | FF | Sack | Int | 55 | 41 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
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Townsend agreed Friday to a four-year deal for $8 million that could be worth an additional $400,000 a year with incentives. Though the signing bonus numbers weren't available, Townsend will make $3 million in the first year of the contract. The Patriots started talking about Townsend in the middle of the week, but the Steelers felt it was important to re-sign him. Though they are grooming Bryant McFadden to be a starting cornerback and they think he will be a good one, they didn't want to lose the reality of Townsend, and they wanted to keep him around until McFadden was ready and beyond. The 30-year-old has been with the Steelers eight years. He was a fourth-round pick in 1998 and has been a starter for the past 2½ seasons. The Patriots had spots open in the secondary after the releases of cornerbacks Tyrone Poole and Duane Starks. John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
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