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With an eye toward upgrading the third-worst red-zone offense in the league and improving the experience level among their wide receivers, the Steelers will meet Tuesday with free-agent Herman Moore, one of the most productive receivers in NFL history.

Moore, who was released by the Lions on Monday, said that he plans to arrive in Pittsburgh next Monday night and meet with Steelers coach Bill Cowher, director of football operations Kevin Colbert and undergo a physical examination from team doctors. Colbert was the Lions' director of pro scouting when Moore was their No. 1 draft choice in 1991.

"Kevin and I have always had a relationship," Moore said. "He brought me into the league. Hopefully, I made him proud."

Moore, 6-foot-4, 218 pounds, holds Lions records for receptions (670), yards receiving (9,174) and touchdown catches (62). He also caught more passes in one season (123 in 1995) than any player in NFL history.

Moore's agent, Brad Blank, said that the Steelers inquired about Moore the day after he was released by the Lions.

Moore, 32, has missed 22 games the past three seasons with various injuries, but he said yesterday that he believes he can play three or four more years at a competitive level.

He suffered two knee injuries in 1999, when his reception total fell from 82 the previous season to 16, a separated shoulder in 2000, and shoulder, hamstring and hip injuries in 2001.

After Moore hurt his hip in the fourth game of last season, the Lions put him on the injured-reserve list, ending his season. Moore, who said he never needed more than a bag of ice as treatment for the injury, said he could have played the next week.

"Before the end of the week (after the game), I was back to running and, basically, sprinting," he said. "When I went to visit league doctors, they mentioned (that going on IR) was more than what was necessary in terms of what the Lions did. But they have the right to do that, if they want to. It didn't go over well with me, but I understand it's a business."

If healthy, Moore could become a big target for Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart in the red zone. The Steelers scored touchdowns on just 20 of 52 trips inside the 20-yard line last season (38.5 percent); only the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys were worse.

Calling himself "a true student of the game," Moore said that he is familiar with the Steelers' offensive system.

"Their running game is really what they have a lot of focus on," he said. "But if you have (receivers) who can go up over defenders and cause the defense to account for that with extra bodies, it can help the running game."

Moore is one of only two players in NFL history — the other is Jerry Rice — to record more than 100 receptions in three consecutive seasons (1995-1997), but he admits, "I've never been a speedster.

"I beat people with intelligence and patience."

The Lions might have released Moore a year ago — a move that would have attracted the Steelers' interest at that time, too — but he accepted a salary reduction for the 2001 season from $3.295 milllion to about $1.6 million.

With younger receivers Germane Crowell, Az-Zahir Hakim and Bill Schroeder signed this off-season, however, the Lions told Moore that he would be released after June 1. He had four years and $16 million left on his contract.

The Denver Broncos have contacted Blank about possible interest in Moore, and Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore, who held the same position in Detroit, also telephoned.

If interested, the Steelers have the inside track.

"I don't want to put them in order," Blank said, "but that is the one he wants to visit the quickest."

Money will not be a determining factor in choosing his next team, said Moore, who is president of HGM Enterprises, an Auburn Hills, Mich., firm that franchises 19 businesses, including Cinabun and Mailbox Etc.

"It's not going to be tied to money as much as opportunity," Moore said. "There will be other offers that come to me, as well, but (the money) is probably going to be the same across the board, the veteran minimum ($750,000 per year).

"I don't have great demands, other than I want to work hard and I want to win. Being close to the Super Bowl, you have to definitely give (the Steelers) strong consideration."

But he won't be able to gauge the Steelers' interest until next week.

"It's up to what their goals are," he said. "It's really at their pace."

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