Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor has been having some trouble getting along with wide receiver Antonio Brown during camp, but he says that there will be no hard feelings when Mike Wallace returns to the team.
Taylor has been letting Wallace stay in his Orlando home and use his car so that the receiver, who is holding out after failing to get a long-term deal as a restricted free agent this offseason, can work out with trainer Tom Shaw. There has been increased speculation recently that Wallace will report to the Steelers sooner rather than later. Taylor offered up no information on that front, but did say that the Steelers players won’t have anything but smiles for Wallace when he does decide to rejoin the team.
“He’s working out,” Taylor said, via Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He’s working hard. Whenever he gets back, we’re going to welcome him back with open arms. Mike is taking care of Mike right now. As long as he is working out and getting in football shape, that’s all that matters.”
Taylor was wrong when he said he thought Wallace would report to camp, but he told the receiver exactly how this would play out in May. Taylor said that the Steelers weren’t going to budge on the contract front if Wallace held out, something that proved to be totally accurate.
We think he’ll be right on this front as well. We’ve heard similar sentiments about Wallace’s eventual return from Ben Roethlisberger and plenty of other Steelers players have butted heads with the team about contracts over the years. They get that business is business and that means Wallace shouldn’t have to deal with any fallout from his holdout inside the locker room.
The reaction from the front office probably won’t be so loving.