Today the Steelers begin their preseason football schedule against the Philadelphia Eagles, and Pro Bowl Wide Receiver Mike Wallace is still not in camp. He has yet to sign his Restricted Free Agent tender, and the Steelers do not do contract negotiations with players who do not report to camp.
Mike Wallace is one of the better receivers in the NFL, and he is a really big part of the Steelers offense. The team also recently signed Antonio Brown, the Steelers other Pro Bowler at the position, to a contract extension. I would think that this bothered Wallace, seeing his teammate being taken care of and himself still not receiving a new contract.
Mike Wallace doesn't have a whole lot of leverage here. He has no other team that he can possibly play for, nobody showed any interest in him during free agency. The only way that he can play for another team is if the Steelers were to trade him, and they are not going to be doing that. All he can do is hold out for the first ten weeks of the season and then come in and be on the roster for six weeks to gain an accrued season and reach unrestricted free agency after this season. However, even if he does that, the Steelers can still hit him with the Franchise Tag and keep his rights for at least one more season if they choose to.
So the question must be asked, who is being hurt more by this holdout, Mike Wallace or the Pittsburgh Steelers?
The Steelers still have what should be an upgraded offensive line...Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback...Antonio Brown, Emmannuel Sanders, and Jerricho Cotchery at wide receiver...Heath Miller at tight end...and Issac Redman at running back.
Is Wallace one hell of a deep threat, able to blow the top off of almost any defense? Yeah. But Brown and Sanders are both pretty fast, and Cotchery can be that underneath guy like Hines Ward once was. Miller should be able to go out to receive passes more than last season if the offensive line is impoved too.
The team is learning a new offense with Todd Haley coming in as the offensive coordinator. Brown, Sanders, and Cotchery are learning the intracacies of the offense while all Wallace can do is study the playbook. He cannot ask questions, be shown coaches film of the plays from other teams Haley has coached, or get the timing down with Roethlisberger due to practicing with the team.
The Steelers offense will work without Mike Wallace, that's a fact. The chains will move, touchdowns will be scored.
However, Mike Wallace needs the Steelers. He needs to showcase his skills so his market price will be as high as possible when free agency arrives at the end of this season. It's not a good idea for him to hold out for the majority of a season because he is unhappy with his restricted free agent tender. The Steelers could have cut that offer to just over $500k this season, but they chose not to. That's them showing faith that they believed he would sign the tender and come to camp.
So I end this blog post with a message to Mike Wallace, though I doubt he will ever see it:
Mike Wallace, you know how the Steelers do business. You know that they take care of their own as long as their own players aren't being unreasonable. You know they won't negotiate with a player who is not practicing. Sign your tender, get into camp. The Steelers will then reopen negotiations and maybe you'll get the long term deal you desire. If you don't, you showcase your skills for an entire season to get that deal as a free agent be it with Pittsburgh or without. But in the end, and you know it, you need the Pittsburgh Steelers more than they need you.
