Mar 13, 2015 5 min read

PITTSBURGH – While the rest of the NFL is caught up in the dance that is free agency, the Steelers have stayed in their chair, sitting on their hands, waiting for the band to play a good slow song.

It finally happened Friday.

The Steelers joined the dance by signing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to a contract extension that will keep him in Pittsburgh through 2019 and adding veteran free agent running back DeAngelo Williams, the Carolina Panthers’ all-time leading rusher.

“This was very important to get done. We’re excited,” said Steelers President Art Rooney II of the signing of Roethlisberger. “Certainly, a lot of things happened around the league this week. For us, there was nothing more important than getting this done. We’re really happy with the way our first week of free agency ended.”

Roethlisberger, who just turned 33 earlier this month, was scheduled to earn $11.6 million this season in the final year of a eight-year, $102-million deal signed in 2008.

No official terms of the deal were immediately available, but the going rate for starting quarterbacks of Roethlisberger’s quality is an average $20 million per season.

As part of this deal, the Steelers reworked the final year of the prior deal to lower Roethlisberger’s salary cap hit in 2015, which was scheduled to be $18.4 million. The new deal is expected to give the Steelers, who were $7.8 million under the $143.28 million cap going into the day, additional space.

“I’m extremely happy that we got a deal done that is incredibly fair for both sides,” Roethlisberger said. “We’re just excited to move forward and get some more Lombardi Trophies.”

A first-round draft pick in 2004, Roethlisberger’s led the Steelers to three Super Bowls, winning two, and now will likely finish his career in Pittsburgh.

“Pittsburgh’s home,” said Roethlisberger, his wife and two young children standing nearby. “When people ask me, I tell them I’m from Pittsburgh. I’m proud that, someday, my children will say they’re from Pittsburgh. This is where I want to be.”

Roethlisberger is coming off one of his best seasons. The 11-year-veteran matched New Orleans’ Drew Brees for the league lead in passing yards with a team-record 4,952, while throwing 32 touchdown passes and just nine interceptions with a passer rating of 103.3.

With running back Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, a pair of All-Pro players at their positions, in place to go along with tight end Heath Miller and a young, improving offensive line, Roethlisberger believes he can continue to put up those kind of statistics.

“Our first-and-foremost goal is winning Lombardi Trophies,” said Roethlisberger. “That’s why I’m excited to be able to put the pedal to the metal. I think we’ve got a good, young football team that has a lot of talent, a lot of ability.”

In 11 seasons as starting quarterback, Roethlisberger has led the team to a record of 106-52 in games he started. Last season, he became just the fourth quarterback in league history to win at least 100 games in his first 150 starts, joining Terry Bradshaw, Tom Brady and Joe Montana.

He holds virtually every team passing record, including 39,057 passing yards, 251 touchdown passes and a 93.9 career passer rating.

But the team is hopeful he can also match or surpass Bradshaw in one other statistic – Super Bowl victories. Bradshaw led the Steelers to four Super Bowls.

“We’re looking forward to the future and know that Ben has a number of great years ahead of him and will continue to lead our team,” said Rooney. “Right now, he owns most of our quarterback records, but there are still a couple of important records that we’re going after in the next few years.”

The addition of Williams, 31, could help.

The 10-year veteran was released by Carolina last week in a cost-cutting move after setting nearly every team rushing record.

He gained 6,846 yards and scored 46 touchdowns in his career while also catching 178 passes for an additional 1,621 yards and seven scores.

Williams, who rushed for 219 yards in an injury-plagued 2014 season, signed a two-year deal to join the Steelers as a backup to Bell, the reigning AFC rushing champion.

The Steelers went into the offseason searching for a backup to Bell after LeGarrette Blount failed to accept the role last season. Blount, signed last offseason, grew unhappy and eventually was released in November after leaving the field early during a win at Tennessee.

Bell is expected to be suspended by the NFL for at least two games following his guilty plea to marijuana possession and DUI charges following a stop last August.

The Steelers got a glimpse of life without Bell in their season-ending playoff loss to Baltimore after their star running back suffered a hyperextended knee the previous week in a win over Cincinnati.

Ben Tate, who was playing for this third team in 2014 after signing with the Steelers earlier in the week, Josh Harris and Dri Archer had just 45 yards on 15 carries in the 30-17 loss.

“I haven’t played in any Super Bowls and to know that this is a Super Bowl-contending team and to help make this offense even better, it excites me,” Williams said in a statement released by the team. “I think this was a great fit for me and the Steelers.”

Steelers left tackle Kelvin Beachum will receive an additional $297,687 in performance-based pay for 2014, the league announced Friday. Beachum, a former seventh-round draft pick, started all 16 games at left tackle for the Steelers in 2014. … Cornerback Patrick Robinson, a former No. 1 pick of the New Orleans Saints, is scheduled to make a free agent visit to the Steelers this weekend.