Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace is the lone restricted free agent yet to have signed his one-year tender, which would pay him $2.742 million in non-guaranteed base salary.
The Steelers opted to not reduce the one-year tender even though it was within their rights. However, the move does not guarantee that Wallace will report on time for training camp. But his teammates don't seem to think that will be an issue.
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Cornerback Ike Taylor became the latest Steeler to predict that Wallace will be in camp.
"He's going to be there (training camp)," Taylor told Albert Buford of The Times-Picayune on Saturday. "They'll get it done. When you talk about that kind of money, it's not an overnight type of deal. By the end of the day, I think for sure he's going to get that thing done. Both sides are working together, so that's a good thing."
Taylor's comments echoed what quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said earlier this month.
Wallace reporting for the start of training camp would not be a surprise, but a new big-money deal for the Pro Bowl wideout would be. Wallace reportedly is seeking to be compensated at the Larry Fitzgerald/Calvin Johnson level, which is in excess of $16 million per season. The tier below that is still in the $10-$12 million per-year range, which is certainly what Wallace's agent (James "Bus" Cook, who negotiated Johnson's contract extension) wants.
The Steelers might not be inclined to do that since Wallace is under club control for around $12.5 million over the next two seasons (restricted free agent tender in 2012, plus the franchise tag in 2013). That money could be too wide to bridge in just five weeks, which makes Wallace playing out the season on the tender a more likely scenario.