Throw the cash Wes wants at Mike Wallace

[Gostkowski for 3]

Mike Wallace looks a lot like Todd Pinkston on the field. They both have that lanky weirdness with wirey speed. Personally I'm not a huge fan, but Wallace did put up some decent stats last season.

 

[1960Pats]

The original premise of the thread suggested letting the most proven and consistent WR of the BB/Brady era walk and paying more money to someone who's completely unproven in the offense so if you ask me, it was never going anywhere good in the first place

I think the foolishness that PB12 was referring to was the Brady for Luck talk. I had a hard time with it myself. It's like the Brady/Bledsoe wars back in 2001, only without a proven QB on one side.

The Luck discussion that I'd prefer is the one that questions the way that Luck ended up in Indy. It was pretty clear that Indy tanked the season on purpose to get him.

 

[DaBruinz]

WRs are expendable in the pats O...no need to pay the $$ he wants..not even close. Save it to keep hernandez here

Someone clearly has forgotten the 2006 season.. :bricks:

 

[DaBruinz]

I'm not sure what the #'s are exactly, but aren't they unwilling to pay Welker, a PROVEN player in the system $8M-$9M per? So you would expect them to throw over $10M per at a guy who is completely unproven in this offense?

You're leaving out a critical piece of the equation.. Which is the AGE difference. Welker will be 32 at the start of next season. Wallace will be 27.. But, beyond that, you're correct.

 

[Kontradiction]

Someone clearly has forgotten the 2006 season.. :bricks:

Why would you even dignify such an idiotic post with a response?

 

[mayoclinic]

FWIW, the Steelers have apparently decided to throw the cash Mike Wallace wants at Antonio Brown. A day after announcing that they were withdrawing prior offers on the table to Wallace due to lack of progress in the negotiations, the Steelers reached a 5 year $42.5M deal on an extension with Brown:

Steelers ink Antonio Brown to long-term deal | ProFootballTalk
Source -- Pittsburgh Steelers lock up WR Antonio Brown with 5-year, $42.5 million deal - ESPN

It's not impossible, but it's hard to see how the Steelers can afford to pay Wallace in the ballpark of what he's asking given the Brown contract. Sounds like they read the tea leaves and decided to sign the guy who was willing to play ball with them. Of course, they have Mike Wallace's rights and can always use the franchise tag on him in 2013.

 

[lurker1965]

You want to really make a statement to the league that the Pats aren't going nowhere Bill?

Pair Lloyd up with Wallace along with Gronk and Aaron. Then we'll see who's laughing at NE.

Most of you crying for youth at the receiver position? Doesn't get better than a frustrated Mike Wallace who's just 25 and about to enter his prime.

Honestly i wouldn't even be upset if we got someone like him and let Wes go. Someone else will fill that slot position no problem, but money can't buy a guy (or in this case can) who gets behind the best d backs in the league and opens up even MORE space for the most devastating TE combo out there with the best in the game throwing the ball.

You know it makes sense Bill, drive a dagger into the Steeler's hearts and get this guy while you can.

Wow, you found a way to fix the anemic offense while increasing the needed contempt of players for the organization.


:bricks::bricks::rocker::rocker::singing::singing:

 

[Ring 6]

I think anyone looking at Wallace should really pay attrention to both his 2nd half of 2011 production (29-393) as well as the fact that the Steelers seem to be very concerned about it, considering it was pretty much half of his first half production.
If the Steelers are leery of signing him long term, other teams should take note of what may be the reasons why.

 

[Ring 6]

FWIW, the Steelers have apparently decided to throw the cash Mike Wallace wants at Antonio Brown. A day after announcing that they were withdrawing prior offers on the table to Wallace due to lack of progress in the negotiations, the Steelers reached a 5 year $42.5M deal on an extension with Brown:

Steelers ink Antonio Brown to long-term deal | ProFootballTalk
Source -- Pittsburgh Steelers lock up WR Antonio Brown with 5-year, $42.5 million deal - ESPN

It's not impossible, but it's hard to see how the Steelers can afford to pay Wallace in the ballpark of what he's asking given the Brown contract. Sounds like they read the tea leaves and decided to sign the guy who was willing to play ball with them. Of course, they have Mike Wallace's rights and can always use the franchise tag on him in 2013.

It should be noted that in the second half of 2011 Brown produced close to twice as many rec yards as Wallace.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Here's an idea, pay them both.

that makes too much sense...so no

 

[mayoclinic]

It should be noted that in the second half of 2011 Brown produced close to twice as many rec yards as Wallace.

Brown was voted the team's MVP last year, not Wallace, and the Steeler's approach to the Wallace situation this year has clearly been influenced by a desire to keep them both if at all possible, but not lose out on Brown. With Wallace's ego out of control and reports that he wants "Larry Fitzgerald money", the Steelers have seemingly realized that continued negotiations were likely to be fruitless, and have moved on:

What does the long-term contract extension for Steelers receiver Antonio Brown mean for the future of the Steelers’ other starting receiver, Mike Wallace?

It may mean Wallace and the Steelers have no future together.

After Brown signed his deal, Steelers beat writer Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that there won’t be a new deal for Wallace. In other words, the Steelers are telling Wallace that his options are to sign his one-year tender and play this season for $2.7 million, or not to play at all.

If Wallace does sign that one-year tender, he’d become an unrestricted free agent a year from now. At that point, the Steelers could use the franchise tag to keep him, but Bouchette writes that there’s “no way” the Steelers will franchise Wallace. In other words, the Steelers have pretty much resigned themselves to getting one more year out of Wallace, and then letting him move on.

But will they even get another year out of Wallace? Not necessarily, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who writes that the Steelers could trade Wallace in training camp.

Doubts grow that Mike Wallace has a future in Pittsburgh | ProFootballTalk

As the article notes, no one was willing to sign Wallace for a 1st round pick in the offseason, so it's not clear what the Steelers would get for him now.

Wallace is a speed burner whoo has limited route running skills, whose production tailed off last year, and who thinks he is worth being paid ridiculous money. Not interested.

 

[supafly]

Wallace is a speed burner who has limited route running skills, whose production tailed off last year, and who thinks he is worth being paid ridiculous money. Not interested.

Add in his own coach's assessment of being a "one trick pony" at times, and I think you wrapped up the entire thread and thoughts on Wallace.

He has some great speed, but he'd be a hell of a gamble...a hell of a gamble. I think it's very hard to judge a player like that in a system such as PIT's. We would know absolutely nothing about his abiltity to break down plays, run the route tree properly, or carry a TEAM winning attitude.

Let some team like Tampa Bay, SD, Dallas and the usual group of suspects overpay him next February. I would honestly be worried if NE gave him the money that the Steelers just gave Brown yesterday (8.5 per).

 

[Deus Irae]

Interesting stuff from PFT....

The widely held immediate reaction was that Wallace had overvalued himself. Fitzgerald signed an eight-year, $120 million contract last August. His deal included $50 million guaranteed.

On Friday night, however, Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote that Wallace’s asking price is more in line with the five-year, $55.555 million contract signed by Bucs receiver Vincent Jackson during the spring. Jackson’s deal contains $26 million guaranteed.

Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has “guessed” that he might only cost a fourth-round pick.

Wallace wants to be paid like Vincent Jackson, not Fitzgerald | ProFootballTalk

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Vincent Jackson money now? hmmm much better than the 100 mill of Fitzgerald...

 

[Deus Irae]

It would really suck if the Jets found a way to get him.

 

[mayoclinic]

From Doug Farrar:

A while back, according to those in the know in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Steelers gave receiver Mike Wallace a contract offer somewhere in the area of $42 million over five years. If accepted, the deal would have resolved the fact that Wallace was given a first-round restricted free-agent tender, which guarantees him just $2.72 million in the 2012 season. Wallace was evidently unimpressed, which is why he's holding out of the Steelers' training camp. The team's response to the actions of their primary receiver over the last couple of years was essentially this: Go on and hold out -- we'll give Emmanuel Sanders your role as the "X" receiver in practice, and we'll give Antonio Brown, who almost matched your numbers in 2011, your contract.
And that's exactly what they did. On Friday, just two days after making their first public statements about Wallace's holdout during camp, the Steelers signed Brown to that very same five-year, $42.5 million extension.

Steelers make a statement, give Mike Wallace

It's a great reminder to players that they are competing for a limited amount of cap space. Whether Wallace wanted Larry Fitzgerald money or "just" VIncent Jackson money, the Steelers thought that he overvalued himself, and they exercised their right to use that money on another player.

 

[supafly]

It would really suck if the Jets found a way to get him.

From what I understand, the Jets are very limited already in what they can do as far as grabbing high profile players to big deals, especially looking at next season.

Their #1 priority will already by Revis next year anyway, who came awfully close to holding out this year. I'm curious already as to how they'll pull that one off, although I'm sure they will.

 

[supafly]

You want to really make a statement to the league that the Pats aren't going nowhere Bill?

Pair Lloyd up with Wallace along with Gronk and Aaron. Then we'll see who's laughing at NE.

I respect your opinion in terms of wanting to get Wallace, no doubt. I personally don't agree with it, but I can obviously see the benefits if it worked out.

With that said though, you kind of lost me with your quoted statements.

Does anyone in the NFL really think that "the Pats aren't going anywhere?"

Is anyone actually "laughing" at them, or the moves that they made to improve the WR/TE core, all while managing to stay 10 million underneath the cap?

 

[MoLewisrocks]

He's still overvalued himself because he ain't getting Vincent Jackson money either, least of all here...

 

[goheels22002]

It would really suck if the Jets found a way to get him.

I don't see how the Jets could possibly spring loose enough cash to pay Wallace this year. They are right up against the cap with their top 50 salaries.

Wallace is screwing himself by pretending he's Vincent Jackson. Jackson is a $13 million cap hit this year and next and the only reason TB could pay him was because they were the furthest under the cap in the NFL when free agency began.

Now, everybody is up to the cap, the retirees have stayed away and everybody is looking at the 85-90 guys in camp.

It looks like he's on the way out, but Pittsburgh still gets a claim on a draft pick since he;s an RFA. A sign and trade with some team that looks to yield a top 15 pick makes sense, but that team would have to have the ability to clear enough cap room. That number may be plummeting with the Brown signing. My guess it's somebody like the Dolphins, Rams or the Seahawks who have some space and could throw a solid #1 in a sign-and-trade.

My guess is that he winds up with less than the $42 million deal the Steelers initially offered. He should fire his agent.