The Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday filled their need for a slot receiver, opting for Terance Mathis over fellow free agent Herman Moore and reaching agreement with the former Atlanta Falcons star on a one-year contract.

Mathis, 35, auditioned for Steelers coaches and team officials Wednesday, just one day after Moore had worked out for them, and by all accounts had a very good session. The choice of Mathis came down to the fact he has more experience playing in the slot and figures to be a better fit in filling the vacancy created when Bobby Shaw signed with Jacksonville as an unrestricted free agent earlier this spring.

	“	I said that, if I could, I'd play for free in Pittsburgh. I meant that. ”
		— Terance Mathis

The 12-year veteran, who was released by Atlanta early this spring for salary cap reasons, will get a contract worth $775,000. The deal includes a signing bonus of $25,000.

Because of a new rule this year that grants a salary cap break to teams who sign veterans to minimum-salary contracts, Mathis will count only $475,000 against Pittsburgh's 2002 spending limit.

"I've been to the Pro Bowl, caught over 100 passes in a season, played in the Super Bowl ... but the one thing that's still missing is a Super Bowl ring," Mathis said. "That's why I'm still playing. That's why I desperately wanted this to work out in Pittsburgh. This is a team that can win it all and I'll do whatever I can to help do that."

With his 666 career catches, Mathis ranks in the top 20 most prolific receivers in league history and posted 50-plus catches in each of the last eight seasons. Even though he had just 51 catches in 2001, his lowest output since 1993, Mathis still led the Falcons in both catches and receiving yards (564).

Always more quick than fast, Mathis is perfect for the slot position: He has always been a player who knows how to move the chains and add yards after catches. The Steelers expect him to help groom rookie Antwaan Randle El, their second-round pick from Indiana, as the eventual slot receiver.

Noted as a team leader, Mathis moved through the Pittsburgh locker room with ease Wednesday. He is friends with many Steelers players who have homes in Atlanta. It is believed that quarterback Kordell Stewart pushed hard for the Mathis signing.

At this point in his career, Mathis is prepared to be a role player and is more concerned with team achievements than individual accomplishments.

"I said that, if I could, I'd play for free in Pittsburgh," Mathis said. "I meant that. It's an organization every player in the league knows for its class and I wanted the chance to be a part of something special."

Mathis began his career with the New York Jets as a sixth-round pick in the '90 draft. After four years with the Jets, the former New Mexico star signed with Atlanta as an unrestricted free agent in 1994. Playing a slot position in the Falcons' run-and-shoot offense, he registered 111 catches, 1,342 yards and 11 touchdown catches in his first season with the team.

Some skeptics doubted that Mathis, who averaged 86 catches and 1,050.7 yards in three seasons in the run-and-shoot, could be productive in a more conventional attack. But he upgraded his downfield blocking to fit into Dan Reeves' offense and has averaged 63 catches the past five seasons.

For his career, Mathis has played in 190 games and started 130 of them. He has 666 catches, 8,591 yards and 61 touchdowns.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.