Pittsburgh Steelers Still Hope To Sign Mike Wallace To Long-Term Deal
By Josh Sanchez
It was recently revealed that Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace was asking for a new contract that would pay him in the range of Arizona Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald. That demand is a big part of the reason there has been almost zero market for for Wallace on the free agency market — no one is willing to give up a first-round pick and $100 million for Wallace.
Despite the ridiculous demands from Wallace, the Steelers are still hoping to sign the speedy wideout to a long-term contract. The Steelers just don’t know when exactly that will be.
“We stay in constant touch with him and his representatives,” Steelers team president Art Rooney II.
“The sooner the better as far as we’re concerned but there’s two parties to it. We’ll have to see what we agree on so I don’t want to put any particular time frame on it or restrictions on it because these things take time and I wouldn’t want to box myself in on it.”
Over the first three years of his career, Wallace has averaged over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns. There is no questioning that Wallace is a valuable weapon, but is he really worth the cost?
The Steelers have Antonio Brown on their roster and they will face this same situation with Brown next offseason. When you compare the two wideouts, Brown is the more well-rounded receiver and arguably the best receiver on the Steelers roster. Wallace is one of the best deep threats in the league, but he is a bit of a one-trick pony.
Ultimately, the Steelers would like to bring back both players, but they are up against the salary cap and it will be a challenge.
“It’s something you have to adjust as time goes on but I think we feel like we are where we need to be at this point,” Rooney said. “Probably more decisions are going to have to be made this offseason and some contract decisions are going to have to be made. There’s certainly more to come in terms of putting all of the pieces together on this team. I think we’re comfortable where we are and looking forward to the draft.”
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