Having scrambled last week to squeeze under the salary cap, the Tennessee Titans will begin using the room created to attempt to re-sign some of their own key free agents, and that process began early Monday morning.

The team completed an agreement with starting left guard Zach Piller on a deal that will pay him $21.28 million over seven years, with a signing bonus of $4 million. Piller has a chance to boost that total if he reaches a number of playing time levels that would trigger so-called "escalators" in his 2005 and 2006 base salaries.

Keeping the physical Piller, 26, was a priority for the Titans and agent Drew Rosenhaus and general manager Floyd Reese were into substantive talks even before the start of the free agency signing period.

Several teams, most notably the Washington Redskins, indicated interest in Piller. But the preference all along for the former University of Florida star was to return to a Titans franchise that fell just one victory shy of the Super Bowl last season.

Piller will receive base salaries of $530,000 (for 2003), $1 million (2004), $1.5 million (2005), $2.5 million (2006), $3 million (2007), $3.5 million (2008) and $4 million (2009). There are roster bonuses of $250,000 each for the 2006-2008 seasons and of $500,000 for 2009.

In addition, Piller can increase his base salaries by as much as $500,000 each in 2005 and 2006 by reaching predetermined playing time benchmarks.

A third-round choice in the 1999 draft, Piller is one of the strongest players in the NFL. He is a powerful in-line blocker and he teams with tackle Brad Hopkins to provide Tennessee a highly-regarded left side. He has played in 51 games and started 22, moving into the lineup the middle of 2001.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.