Emmanuel Sanders: Mike Wallace 'back pretty soon'

The Mike Wallace watch stretches on in Pittsburgh, but inside the Steelers' locker room, the wide receiver's teammates believe he's about to show his face.

That's according to plan. Wallace is expected to rejoin the team before the start of the season after skipping OTAs, minicamp and all of training camp through this week. Wallace wants a long-term deal; the Steelers want him to sign his $2.742 million tender.

The Steelers historically don't negotiate with holdouts, which contributes to the theory Wallace eventually will cave.

"There's a little buzz around the team that he'll be coming back pretty soon," receiver Emmanuel Sanders told the Beaver County Times. "I don't know the exact date, but it's looking pretty good."

It's unlikely to happen before the Steelers returns to team headquarters in Pittsburgh next week. That would give him at least a few weeks to learn Todd Haley's new offense. The Steelers have been advertised as building a run-first offense, but don't believe it. Yes, they'll pound the ball, but Haley loved the pass in Arizona and has one of the game's premier quarterbacks in Ben Roethlisberger.

This is a different team if Wallace stays away, but the Steelers aren't about to trade him. It's one of the offseason's final, lingering contract dramas. One that might be nearing an end.

Source:  Around The League/NFL.com
Author:  Marc Sessler
Photo from Gregory Shamus Getty Images
(BuzzBox.com)

Steelers, Mike Wallace making progress in contract talks

The Steelers and restricted free agent receiver Mike Wallace may finally be getting close to agreeing to a new contract.
With training camp drawing near, the Steelers and Wallace’s camp are in close contact and there has been some movement, with both sides interested in getting a long-term deal done, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS.
Wallace has so far shown no interest in signing the one-year, $2.7 million restricted free agent tender, and there have been suggestions that Wallace would skip all of training camp rather than sign the tender in July or August.
If Wallace missed all of training camp and signed just before the start of the season, he could still play in all 16 games and make the full $2.7 million, but he would enter the season way behind in new coordinator Todd Haley’s offense, which would be a problem both for the Steelers and for Wallace, who will want to have a big year in 2012 if he signs the one-year tender and tries to cash in with a new contract as a free agent next year.
The best-case scenario for both sides is Wallace and the Steelers finding common ground on a contract before training camp starts in six days. But even if they’re making progress, that’s an awfully optimistic scenario.

source: PFT.com
author: Michael David Smith
photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images via BuzzBox.com
(BleacherReport)