Steelers Not Talking To Smith's Agent

Steelers Left Tackle Marvel Smith is set to become a free agent this Friday at 12:01 AM, and he is taking the silence from the Steelers that they plan on letting him.

"I haven't heard from them," agent Ken Zuckerman said yesterday. "We're planning that they're moving forward and we're moving forward. That's what we're looking at. They tagged Starks, they're talking to other linemen, so we're assuming that they're moving forward in a different direction and so are we."

With Starks taking up such a huge chunk of salary cap space and the Steelers not being in the healthiest of cap positions, it may be time for Marvel to move on.

Smith and his agent are not surprised, nor angered, the Steelers have made no moves to keep him. Zuckerman works for Priority Sports and Entertainment, which also represents guard Alan Faneca, who left the Steelers as a free agent last year at age 31. Smith, entering his 10th season, turns 31 in August.

"I don't think he's disappointed," Zuckerman said. "Listen, if you look at the track record, the Steelers keeping guys going into their third deal, they don't keep many. They've paid Max Starks over two years probably more than Alan Faneca made over two years.