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Steelers contract with with ex-Bills LB Arthur Moats worth $795,000 over one year

Moats will receive $730,000 in salary with a signing bonus of $65,000.

By Neal Coolong

It's certainly an affordable deal for the cap-strapped Steelers. Considering Moats' highest and best use on the Steelers is likely as a starting inside linebacker, they replaced Larry Foote for a player seven years younger and one who costs half the price.

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Neal Coolong

Steelers are changing their defense by changing players, and having those players change positions. Moats would join two other free agent signings who will play something of different positions in Pittsburgh.

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Moats may not play strictly on the inside, but he's making a veteran minimum level deal for a player with his tenure, and it doesn't hurt the Steelers' salary cap too much - especially if he is figured to be the team's starter opposite Lawrence Timmons.

He's the most recent and probably final piece to a defense re-tooled through free agency.

It won't, however, negate the need to continue the overhaul through the draft. A one-year deal won't be enough to keep the Steelers completely off the market for linebacker talent. Putting a total of four of them on the field in the team's base package means there are usually nine linebackers on the active roster.

Moats helps put together a clearer picture of where the Steelers are going defensively, but it's still murky. For now, there could be at least three new starters on the Steelers' defense.

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