Steelers GM Kevin Colbert on WR Mike Wallace’s no-show from Steelers training camp:
“Yeah there’s really no contact. Mike knows where things stand. The next step for him really is to report and to sign his tender, and until that happens, there won’t be anything else. And if that happens, nobody knows where it will go from there. So that’s where it is and has been, and hopefully it comes to an end sooner rather than later because it will be good for us, but it will also be good for Mike.”
When asked if Wallace could be traded, Colbert responded:
“No, Mike’s not available. We have as big a need for a big-play receiver as anybody. We want him to be here and Mike wants to be here long term. So he’s not available.”
The main difference between this situation and Vincent Jackson's situation in 2010 is that the Steelers didn't reduce the value of Wallace's tender. The Chargers did, and V-Jax dug in his heels. Wallace may very well sign the tender and could be sitting out of camp just to sit out of camp, but there's enough risk here to have us worried. Wallace could go the route of Jackson and return late in the season only to earn a year of credit and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.