Ziggy Hood Is Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Thankfully, we finally have some football related news to announce as it relates to your defending Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

2009 first round draft pick Evander “Ziggy” Hood has signed with the Black and Gold. He actually signed over the weekend but I was waiting to hear the details of his contract before posting about it. Unfortunately, the crack staff at our local paper(s) seem more preoccupied with the Pittsburgh Pirates annual red tag sale than getting that information to us. All I’ve seen is that the deal is believed to be for five years with $6 million dollars guaranteed.

Ziggy is only the fourth first rounder to sign this year. With training camp for most of the league mere days away, that’s a big ‘ol tub of holdouts.  Sorry, channeling my inner John Madden there.  I’m gonna miss that bitter doofus.

In Ziggy’s case, I’m guessing he signed quickly and rather reasonably because he realized he was a borderline first rounder going to a team with quite a few highly paid superstars. And it’s not like he’ll be worrying about his Giant Eagle Fuel Perks any time soon. Holding out wouldn’t do either party any good as Ziggy’s best bet in this situation is to show up, do his best, and trust the Steelers will take care of him when he proves himself.

I wouldn’t count on knowing what we have in Ziggy for quite a while, though. Defensive Coordinator/Mad Genius Dick Lebeau runs some of the most complicated schemes in the league. Rookies have very little chance of learning it well enough to see significant playing time in their first year. Even a total athletic freak like Pro Bowl S Troy Polamalu barely played his rookie year. So enjoy the ride, Ziggmeister, and we’ll keep an eye on you in 2011.