The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - Amid speculation the Pittsburgh Steelers will draft a quarterback next week, their returning starter began his offseason 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.

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 in 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.

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."

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.

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.

PATRIOTS: New England signed veteran cornerback Otis Smith, less than a year after the team reluctantly released him as he struggled to recover from a shoulder injury. Smith, 38, spent last season with the Detroit Lions, where he played in all 16 games, starting the final 13. He had 59 tackles, an interception and 1.5 sacks.

Smith, a 14-year veteran, was a key contributor during New England's run to 2002 Super Bowl. His interception of St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner set up a field goal in the title game, which New England won 20-17.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick called Smith a "true champion" when he released him last August.

"Nobody has more respect for Otis than I do," Belichick said at the time. "It's a difficult roster decision that we made."

Smith has 564 career tackles, including 5.5 sacks. He has intercepted 29 passes for 645 yards and seven touchdowns.

BROWNS: Ron Wolf resigned as a part-time personnel consultant, less than three months after the longtime NFL executive was hired by the club.

Wolf, who built the Green Bay Packers into a Super Bowl champion in his 11 years as the team's general manager, said his decision to leave the Browns was tied into Carmen Policy's resignation as team president.

Policy announced last week that he was stepping down as president and chief executive on May 1.

"Once that happened, that was it for me," Wolf said in a telephone interview. "Carmen had been the one who brought me in and after he said he was leaving, there was no reason for me to stay, either."

VIKINGS: Minnesota re-signed cornerback Eric Kelly to a one-year contract. Kelly, a third-round pick in 2001, started 23 of 32 games for Minnesota in his first two seasons but saw his role reduced to mostly special teams in 2003. He made five tackles on defense and eight on special teams last season.

REDSKINS: Washington signed tight end Brian Kozlowski and released tight end Byron Chamberlain. Kozlowski has played 10 seasons - the last seven with Atlanta - and could serve as the versatile H-back coach Joe Gibbs has been seeking.

Kozlowski started a career-high nine games and caught 10 passes for 87 yards last year, although he has been a reserve blocking tight end and special teams player for most of his career.

RAVENS: Dick Cass has been appointed team president after helping to broker the purchase of the team by Steve Bisciotti.

Cass, a Washington-based corporate lawyer, also represented Jerry Jones in his acquisition of the Dallas Cowboys in 1989 and has worked for NFL on various transactions.

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