The Tennessee Titans have signed former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Chris Hope to a six-year deal. Hope has started every game for the Steelers the past two seasons and has grown into a solid player. This past season, Hope had three interceptions.
"Pittsburgh was a great place," said Hope. "I was limited to just play in the middle of the field, but I have the ability to play either safety."
Hope met with several teams, but decided to sign with the Titans due to their history.
"I felt Tennessee was my new home," Hope said. "The Titans have been a very productive organization. In my rookie season, they beat us in the playoffs."
The Titans have made a big impact in free agency already, looking to improve on the youth that they've been building. Hope will add some veteran leadership to a young secondary.
"We really feel like Chris's athletic ability is going to allow him to do whatever we need him to do ... cover the slot receiver of play around the line of scrimmage," said Titans' head coach Jeff Fisher. He was basically a line of scrimmage linebacker in their (Pittsburgh's) nickel-and-dime packages, so he has the instinct to do those kind of things. The thing that we look for in the position ... is the athletic ability, the opportunity to put your foot in the ground, make a play, go make a tackle, ball skills and those kinds of things. That's what Chris does."
Hope was originallu a third round draft pick by the Steelers in 2002, used mainly as a special teams player at that time.