With current Steelers receiver Mike Wallace holding out and former Steelers (and Giants and Jets) receiver Plaxico Burress still looking for work (and needing it), it takes something less than a genius to connect the dots in a way that would lead Plaxico back to Pittsburgh.
But when the possibility is floated by Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who is as plugged in as anyone when it comes to the Steelers, it’s time to pay attention.
Bouchette says that Burress wants “too much money,” but that “something has to give and it doesn’t look as though Wallace will give in any time soon.”
Though the Steelers inexplicably opted not to make an aggressive move with Wallace on June 15 and cut his one-year tender offer by more than $2 million, the Steelers pulled a piss-and-vinegar power play 11 days ago, signing receiver Antonio Brown to the deal that surely would have been available for Wallace.
Now, the ultimate “we’re moving on” moment would come if/when the Steelers sign a replacement. And the replacement could be Burress.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger surely would welcome it, and Burress could provide an interesting complement to the rest of the team’s receivers.
So if the Steelers really want to shake things up after giving Wallace’s long-term deal to Brown, they could strip the RFA tender from Wallace and give his $2.7 million (or something less than that) to Burress.
Yes, it would make Wallace a free agent. But it also would give him a chance to find out that he won’t be getting Larry Fitzgerald money on the open market -- especially if he hits the open market in August.