Keisel Eager to Play Last 2 Games

Keisel Eager to Play Last 2 Games
By Ed Bouchette Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://sportsblogs.post-gazette.com/...s/201312190006
:steelerfan:
Brett Keisel was eager to return this week from his foot injury in part because he knows these may be his final games wearing a Steelers uniform.
He missed four of the past five games altogether with a foot injury that permitted him to play only seven snaps in the other game. He is 35 and his contract expires after this season.
He knows the drill because he has seen other teammates follow it like James Farrior, Hines Ward and his old defensive linemates Casey Hampton, Aaron Smith and Chris Hoke. He wants to play in these last two games.
“I was very eager, especially this being my last year on my contract,’’ Keisel said after going through his second straight full practice this week. “I wanted to go down fighting with my teammates, and whatever happens I wanted to be out there playing with them and do my job. I’m here to work and play games and that’s what I want to do.”
He thinks he could play again in 2014, but understands the Steelers may not want him back. After all, they released all of those teammates mentioned above except for Hoke, who retired.
“That’s very possible. That’s the nature of the business we’re in, everyone’s getting younger. Whatever happens, I’m grateful for my time that I’ve been here. I’m grateful for the success we’ve had on this team.
“But I want us to go out and finish this thing strong, win these last two games and go out on a positive note.”
He said he’s not sure he would play elsewhere if given a chance and does not want to think about that at the moment.
“I bleed black and gold, everyone knows that,’’ said Keisel, a native of Wyoming who has made his year-round home in Pittsburgh with his wife and three children. “I’m a Yinzer. I love this city. I plan on raising my family here.
“It’s one of those things that it’ll be a tough decision to be made when it’s there.”
Keisel made the Steelers as a seventh-round draft pick in 2002 from Brigham Young, doing so by excelling on special teams as a rookie. He waited four years (one spent on injured reserve, 2003) before he moved into the starting lineup. He never left, starting at right defensive end for eight years and making one Pro Bowl for the 2010 season.