ESPN NFL

The Pittsburgh Steelers have reached a two-year agreement with backup guard Trai Essex, according to a source.

Essex will sign a two-year, $1.92 million deal that includes a $500,000 signing bonus, the source indicated.

By getting a two-year commitment from Essex, the Steelers can try now work on getting long-term deals done with tackles Max Starks and Willie Colon. Left tackle Marvel Smith has been looking around with other teams.

Essex was a third-round pick of the Steelers in 2005. He has played in 31 games and has four starts.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.