Pittsburgh Steelers: Could Mike Wallace end up in Cleveland?
By Matt Shetler
Many have already written off any chance of free agent wide receiver Mike Wallace re-signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But will the Steelers have to face the speedster twice a season beginning next year?
According to CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora, many in the organization believe the division-rival Cleveland Browns are Wallace’s most likely landing spot next month.
November 4, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace (17) runs for a touchdown during the fourth quarter of an NFL game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
New Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is a former minority owner of the Steelers, so he has first-hand knowledge of Wallace’s talents and likely would be very interested in making a big splash right off the bat by inking Wallace to a long-term deal.
Secondly, signing Wallace makes plenty of sense for the Browns for football reasons. New head coach Rob Chudzinski and offensive coordinator Norv Turner are installing a vertical passing attack that would be perfect for Wallace’s strengths as a speedster.
Finally, there is the fact that unlike the Steelers, the Browns are way under the salary cap so they wouldn’t have a problem meeting Wallace’s salary demands.
The Browns are second only to the Cincinnati Bengals when it comes to cap space and Haslam is expected to make Cleveland big spenders, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Browns indeed make chasing Wallace one of their top priorities of the offseason.