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.