Now that the deadline for franchise players to sign long term deals has come and past, only one high profile player remains unsigned, Steelers’ restricted free agent Mike Wallace. Wallace has yet to sign his restricted free agent tender and there is no deadline for him to do so, as he and the Steelers work on a long term deal. The only “deadline” for the two sides is probably Training Camp, which is in about a week. Wallace might not report without a long term deal and with new offensive coordinator Todd Haley coming in, the Steelers want him there at every practice after he’s already missed OTAs and minicamp.
According to the NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora, Wallace and the Steelers “continue to make headway” in extension talks, no surprise as the extension talks have hardly been heated as some other ones have been. Wallace wants to be a Steeler long term and the Steelers want him to be a Steeler long term. They just have to find a contract that both satisfies Wallace’s desire and pays him fairly and works under the cap that the Steelers are backed up against, and presumably will be next offseason as well.
In an act of good faith, the Steelers did not reduce Wallace’s tender value last month when they had a chance to. I expect the two sides to agree to a deal worth 10-12 million per year over 5 years with about half of that guaranteed sometime in the next two weeks. A 2009 3rd round pick, Wallace doesn’t turn 26 until August 1st and has caught 171 passes for 3206 yards and 24 touchdowns already in his 3 year career and might be the league’s fastest player.
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