Maddox is low-deal darling

Come September, the quarterback may be the team's third-highest paid at his position.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Amid speculation the Pittsburgh Steelers will draft a quarterback next week, their returning starter began his off-season workouts Monday. He doesn't have a new contract or any assurance he will get one.
Tommy Maddox knows what that means.
"I could be going into the season being the third highest-paid guy [quarterback] on the team," Maddox said.
That might be a first for an experienced NFL quarterback, though the situation isn't totally unfamiliar to Maddox. Not only did backup quarterback Charlie Batch earn more than he did last season, so did since-released punter Josh Miller.
Reality
Now, as Maddox readies for what would be his third season as a starter, there is little incentive for Pittsburgh to give him a large salary increase. Maddox realizes it, too.
Asked Monday where his contract situation stands, Maddox said, "Still."
If the Steelers draft a quarterback on the first round -- North Carolina State's Philip Rivers could be there when they choose 11th overall -- they almost certainly won't have any more money to give Maddox. That means Maddox would keep getting paid like the backup he was when he signed his contract in 2002, just before beating out Kordell Stewart to become a starter.
Even if they don't draft a quarterback this month, there seems little chance the Steelers will go into the 2005 season without Maddox's replacement lined up and ready to go.
Don't bet on it
So, unless the Steelers unexpectedly decide to renegotiate his contract, Maddox will make less over the next three seasons -- $750,000 each in 2004 and 2005 and $1 million in 2006 -- than most NFL starting quarterbacks will earn just this season.
"We've talked to them a little bit, and we'll wait until after the draft and get everything in order and try to talk to them again, and see what happens," Maddox said. "The good thing is I've got a contract past this year, and my focus is more on the season than it is on that.
"I can't control anything they do in the draft and I can't control any moves they make. All I control is going out there and working hard and getting ready for that," he said.
While Maddox doesn't want to be the NFL's lowest-paid veteran starting quarterback again, he also doesn't want to go through another season like 2003, when the Steelers went 6-10 and missed the playoffs for the fourth time in six seasons.
Roster buds
That's why Maddox welcomes former Eagles running back Duce Staley, who is expected to improve what was the NFL's second-worst running game last season. He also was encouraged Monday that left tackle Marvel Smith and right guard Kendall Simmons are healthy again.
Smith missed most of last season with a neck injury, and Simmons struggled to maintain his weight and strength after being diagnosed with diabetes just before training camp started. The result was a season-long personnel shuffle along a patchwork line that didn't begin to stabilize until late in the season.