Stepping out of character and into the remnants of the free-agent market,
the Pittsburgh Steelers signed former
Buffalo Bills linebacker Gabe Northern, one of the few unrestricted players
still available who was a full-time starter in 1999.
Northern, 26, signed a two-year contract worth between $1.6 million and $1.8
Million, SportsLine has learned.
The four-year veteran will add depth to the Steelers' outside linebacker
corps and his ranginess and upfield quickness should also allow him to play
some end in nickel alignments. Since he was a starter at Buffalo in the
same kind of 3-4 front Pittsburgh deploys, Northern figures to have
little trouble fitting in with Steelers defense.
A second-round pick of the Bills in the 1996 draft, he started all 32
regular-season games over the last two seasons. Still the cap-strapped
Bills, who plan to elevate second-year pro Keith Newman to the starting
lineup, made no attempt to retain Northern, even at this late stage of free
agency.
In four seasons, Northern has never missed a game, appearing in 64 contests
with 35 starts. He has 161 tackles, 10½ sacks, 20 quarterback pressures
and an interception. Although he suffers from occasional inconsistency,
Northern has a knack for the big defensive play and has scored three
touchdowns on takeaways.