2012 NFL Free Agents: Pittsburgh Steelers Must Lock Up Mike Wallace

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a gem in the hard-working Mike Wallace and would be wise to lock him up for the long-term. 

Steelers beat writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Scott Brown reports some good news for Steelers fans in the form of this tweet. 

The Steelers are currently trying to sort out their books to free up some cap space. One of the many things they want to accomplish is to lock up Wallace, at least that is what reporters like Brown hint at. 

Using the franchise tag would be a means to negate another team from coming in and offering him more money. The last thing they want is Wallace, who lead the team in receiving yards, to sign with another team. 

NBC Sports' Mike Florio reports the Steelers made a few moves to make some room for a talent like Wallace to stay. 

The Steelers restructured a couple contracts including that of Ike Taylor. He writes: 

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The maneuver pushed $3.28 million in cap space into future years, pushing the total cap space created by three restructurings to nearly $15 million.

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Wallace was by far the best receiver the Steelers had in 2011 as he brought down 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns on the year. 

This is a fully committed player we are talking about and a man that continues to push himself to get better each season. 

He runs his routes a great deal better than when he started and is a physical talent that can overpower most corners. This is the kind of player that you lock up when the chance presents itself. 

The hope is that Brown is correct on his assessment and that the Steelers do franchise tag him with a long-term deal worked out later. 

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