Free agent quarterback Charlie Batch likely will resolve his NFL future within the next seven to 10 days, the former Detroit Lions starter has strongly suggested to friends.

And he is likely to choose from among the three franchises -- Houston, Jacksonville and Green Bay -- with which he has visited in the past week.

But there could be a darkhorse suitor for Batch, too, and it is a team he knows well.

With a move certain to fuel speculation in a city that still has mixed sentiments about its current starting quarterback, ESPN.com has learned that Batch will meet on Friday with Pittsburgh Steelers coaches and officials.

Batch is a native of nearby Homestead, Pa., and he played for Steel Valley High School in Munhall, Pa. Like most youngsters from the area, he grew up a Steelers fan.

"He considers (the Steelers) a very viable possibility," said a source close to Batch. "It's not like he's going there just to gain some leverage. He already has three teams chasing him, and that's plenty, so there is some legitimacy to the (Pittsburgh) visit."

The meeting with the Steelers probably will be the final visit for Batch before he decides where he will play in 2002.

The timing of the visit is curious, since Pittsburgh on Monday signed backup quarterback Tommy Maddox to a four-year contract extension, giving him a $500,000 signing bonus on a deal that now ties him to the Steelers through the 2006 campaign. The Steelers like Maddox and it is doubtless that Batch, who at worst would be the top backup for any of the other teams pursuing him, would agree to serve as the team's No. 3 quarterback.

His presence is almost certain, then, to spawn speculation that the Steelers might consider bringing Batch in to compete with incumbent Kordell Stewart, either this year or in 2003. Stewart's current contract runs through 2003 and, while he stated last week his preference for an extension, Steelers management has made no such overtures.

It could be that the Steelers simply want to meet with Batch, 27, and perhaps examine his mending right shoulder, for future reference. Conventional wisdom holds that, no matter where Batch signs, his deal will be just a one-year contract. That would enable him to go back into the free agent market next spring, when there could be starting jobs available.

In his four seasons with the Lions, the former Eastern Michigan standout appeared in 48 games and logged 46 starts. He completed 743 of 1,326 passes for 9,016 yards, with 49 touchdown passes, 40 interceptions and a 76.9 passer rating.

Batch was the Lions' second-round choice in the 1998 draft, started 12 games as a rookie, and averaged 12.3 starts his first three seasons. But he lost his starting job last season and the Lions decided to go with second-year veteran Mike McMahon and first-round choice Joey Harrington for 2002.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.