A handful of teams are interested in trading for Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace, a league source told Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
There's one snag to this happening -- the Steelers shouldn't be interested in trading Wallace. There's no logical reason for the Steelers to do this. Wallace isn't happy that he is playing under his restricted free-agent tender, and the Steelers won't be happy if Wallace decides to skip offseason workouts because of that. But all signs point to Wallace catching long passes from Ben Roethlisberger this season.
The Steelers can't expect to get a first-round pick for Wallace on draft day because that's the price to acquire him right now as a restricted free agent. If any team is willing to part with a first-rounder, it will sign Wallace to an offer sheet before the April 20 deadline.
Why get only a second-round pick for a No. 1 wide receiver? He's an integral part of the Steelers making another Super Bowl run this year, and Pittsburgh still has 10 months to get Wallace signed to a long-term deal. And, if the Steelers fail to sign Wallace, they still get a third-rounder for him.
A mid- to late-1st rounder seems like a reasonable price for an established WR like Mike Wallace. First round picks are valuable, but teams are still drafting an unknown, while Wallace is very much a known quantity. Wallace's is rumored to be demanding a Larry Fitzgerald-type contract (~ $10 million per season), which may be why other teams aren't biting.
Cardinals news
