Tennessee Titans Hartwig was selected in the
2002 NFL draft by the
Tennessee Titans. In his
rookie season, he played in the final three regular season games, primarily on
special teams. He was inactive for the previous 13 games. In
2003, he started every game at center for Titans and helped
Steve McNair lead the league in passing while
Eddie George recorded his seventh 1,000-yard rushing season. He was a member of offensive line ranked tied for sixth in the league in fewest
sacks allowed with 25. The offense ranked fourth overall in the
AFC (eighth in NFL). Hartwig won starting center job with four preseason starts after never playing center prior to
training camp. He started 47 games in 3 years.
Carolina Panthers Hartwig signed a
free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers in 2006, starting one game before being placed on
injured reserve with a groin injury. Hartwig entered the
2007 season as the starting center for the Panthers. However, he was released after the season to make room for second-year player
Ryan Kalil.
Pittsburgh Steelers On March 18, 2008, the
Pittsburgh Steelers signed Hartwig to a two-year contract, worth approximately
US$4 million. Hartwig earned the starting spot at center for the
2008 season. He was also in the starting lineup for the Steelers victorious
Super Bowl XLIII appearance against the
Arizona Cardinals. Towards the end of the game, Hartwig committed a near-disastrous holding penalty in the end zone, which resulted in a
safety and negated a first down pass which could have sealed the game up. The Cardinals then scored a touchdown to go up by three points, making the game critical for the Steelers as there were less than three minutes left in the game, but on the ensuing drive, the Steelers managed to get a touchdown and win the game by a final score of 27–23. On September 5, 2010, Hartwig was released by the Steelers after being beaten out for the starting job by rookie
Maurkice Pouncey. ==References==