The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't ready to park the Bus just yet.
Jerome Bettis, who weighed retiring after the Steelers lost in the AFC championship game last month, agreed Saturday to another pay cut and will play for at least one more season.
This is the second consecutive season the NFL's No. 5 career rusher has accepted a substantial pay cut to stay in Pittsburgh. Bettis was to have made $4,484,000 next season but will play for about $1.5 million — or about $500,000 more than his base salary last season.
After the Steelers signed Duce Staley a year ago, Bettis agreed to cut his salary by $2.7 million to remain in Pittsburgh as a backup. Bettis went on to enjoy a comeback season as the Steelers went 16-2, gaining at least 100 yards in all but one of seven starts while making the Pro Bowl for the sixth time after rushing for 941 yards.
"We're elated the deal worked out," Lamont Smith, one of Bettis' agents, said Saturday night of a signing first reported on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Web site. "We anticipate the Steelers will make another run at the Super Bowl, and that is Jerome's motivation to come back, to play in the Super Bowl."
There's additional incentive, too, for a player who has played in three losing AFC championship games in Pittsburgh — the Super Bowl will be played next February in Detroit, Bettis' hometown.
Bettis was due to make $4,484,000 in 2005 and $5,484,000 in 2006 under his old contract, far too much for the Steelers to fit under their salary cap.
To get under this year's $85.5 million cap by Tuesday's deadline, the Steelers released former starting cornerback Chad Scott and tight end Jay Riemersma on Friday, clearing about $5 million in cap room.
BEARS SIGN MUHAMMAD: All-Pro receiver Muhsin Muhammad agreed to a six-year contract with the Chicago Bears one day after being released by the Carolina Panthers.
Muhammad was cut by Carolina on Friday because the Panthers did not want to pay a $10 million roster bonus due on Tuesday. It didn't take long for him to find a new home, and the Bears will give him a $12 million signing bonus, which is guaranteed money.
"I don't think there is one person that's a Superman in this sport that can totally revolutionize or change a team," he said. "But I have a lot of experience at what I do, and I'm going to bring that experience to Chicago. I'm going to bring my leadership skills and hopefully I influence enough people to make the team better."
Muhammad, who will be 32 in May, comes off a strong season despite the Panthers having spiraled from NFC champions to 7-9. He caught 93 passes, led the league with 1,405 yards and had 16 touchdowns as the main target after Steve Smith broke his leg.
"He's a guy who makes plays," Bears receivers coach Darryl Drake said on the team's Web site. "He just brings a lot of experience and savvy and a lot of intangibles to the organization that you just can't coach.
"I'm excited about him coming in at this point in time being involved in a new offense, and getting himself established and helping us reach the goals that we want to reach as a team."
MCPHERSON COMEBACK? Adrian McPherson had the great arm, the terrific speed, the uncanny mobility. He won Florida's top honors as a high school senior and started for a national title contender at Florida State.
Then he gambled his college career — and lost.
McPherson is trying to change his life again, this time at the NFL combine, which opened Thursday in Indianapolis. He hopes to convince scouts he's still a top quarterback, minus the baggage.
"I don't feel I have to prove anything," he said. "I just have to be me. A lot of people say, 'He can play,' but a lot of people don't know the situation I was in."
McPherson pleaded no contest in July 2003 to gambling and stolen check charges and was sentenced to community service, 90 days on a county work detail and probation. But in his mind, his 2002 dismissal from the Seminoles by coach Bobby Bowden was a more severe punishment than any the court system could inflict.
He spent 15 months away from football, rebuilding his life and praying someone would give him a break. He developed a friendship with former NFL quarterback Steve DeBerg, who was coaching the Arena Football League's Indiana Firebirds, and signed with the team, becoming one of the league's top quarterbacks in 2004.
NFL scouts don't question his talent. They're more focused on his character.
"I've already seen what I need to see physically. The workout will be the icing on the cake," Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian said. "It's the background check and the discussions with coach Bowden that will be the determining factor."
McPherson insists he's learned a tough lesson. If the scouts agree, McPherson could be one of the biggest steals in April's draft.
He's grown into that gifted 6-foot-3 body, going from the lanky 185 pounds that made some scouts question his durability into a 220-pound muscle man capable of almost anything.
With the Firebirds last season, he completed nearly 60 percent of his passes, throwing for 3,297 yards and 61 touchdowns with just five interceptions. He also rushed for 259 yards — and stayed out of trouble.
McPherson has spent the past four months working with a personal trainer, a dietitian and some of the best tutors in the business to prepare for this weekend's audition.
He already has convinced agent Leigh Steinberg that he's a future NFL star.
Steinberg, who has represented top quarterbacks including Troy Aikman and Steve Young, believes McPherson might be the most talented quarterback he's had. McPherson's 40-yard dash times and vertical jump measurements could put him in a class with the top wide receivers, marks quarterbacks rarely achieve, Steinberg said.
"He's as physically gifted an athlete as I've been around," Steinberg said. "His physical abilities are off the chart. He throws the ball as beautifully as any quarterback that has come along in years."
But his background remains the question mark for many scouts who saw him at the Senior Bowl and will see him again this weekend.
"That came up with every team I talked to and that's to be expected," McPherson said. "It's something I'm open and willing to talk about."
McPherson, who was Florida's Mr. Football and Mr. Basketball his senior year, wants to show them he has changed. He has re-enrolled at Florida State, where he hopes to earn the degree he promised his parents. He apologized to the Seminole coaches. He's formed a new circle of friends.
How teams respond to those changes could dictate where — or if — he goes in April's draft.
Physically, Steinberg believes McPherson is a first-round talent and could follow other Arena ball stars who made it big in the NFL: former MVP Kurt Warner and Tommy Maddox of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
McPherson doesn't like the comparison.
"What's different is that I played Arena ball to reveal my name," he said. "I had to let people see what I could do."
McPherson believes the shorter field forced him to develop a better throwing motion, a quicker release and a faster ability to make decisions.
He's ready to demonstrate his progress and answer his critics — on or off the field.
"I'm doing everything I can," he said. "I want to lay everything out, and whoever wants to be the judge can be the judge. But this is something I've been dreaming about my whole life."