Ten days ago the Tennessee Titans didn't have an experienced backup to starting tailback Eddie George, coming off the worst season of his NFL career.

Now they have two.

The team has reached a contract agreement with unrestricted free agent Skip Hicks, ESPN.com has learned, and the four-year veteran will compete with the recently signed Robert Holcombe for the right to serve as George's caddy. The retention of Hicks gives Tennessee one of the deepest backfield contingents in the league.

Hicks, 27, will sign a four-year deal similar to the one awarded Holcombe, a contract that is worth about $4.4 million. Because of the structures of the respective contracts, the club can afford to carry both backup tailbacks on the regular-season roster.

A team source said the decision to pursue Hicks, even after signing Holcombe to a deal, did not mean the Titans are still concerned about the health of George, who played all of the '01 season on a surgically repaired toe. For the first time in his career, the workhorse George failed to surpass the 1,000-yard mark, but reports this spring indicate that the toe has improved and that the six-year veteran looks better than he did a year ago.

As the backup to George in 2001, Hicks carried 56 times for 341 yards and a touchdown and added five receptions for 22 yards. The coaches were pleased with his performance and endorsed the Titans' attempts to re-sign him. Even after the addition of Holcombe, general manager Floyd Reese insisted Hicks remained in the plans, but it took the veteran back several days to decide to accept the Tennessee contract proposal.

Hicks is expected to be in Nashville on Monday when the Titans resume their organized offseason workouts.

A former UCLA standout, Hicks was the third-round pick of the Washington Redskins in the 1998 draft. He rushed for 433 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie, totals that still stand as his career bests, and went to camp in '99 in an open competition with Stephen Davis for the starting job. Davis won the top spot and Hicks became the primary backup.

He signed with Chicago last summer as a free agent, was released just before the start of the regular season, and signed with the Titans. He appeared in nine games last season.

Hicks has 38 appearances overall, including eight starts, and has carried 285 times for 1,109 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also has 22 receptions for 160 yards.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.