Wallace Departs - Larry Foote, Plaxico Burress & David Johnson Stay with Steelers

In the end, those who predicted that some other team would pay Mike Wallace the 10 million dollar a year that Pittsburgh wouldn’t were way, way off. That’s because the actual number end up at 13 million and the team in question was the Miami Dolphins, who out bid the Vikings, among other teams.

This contract was far greater than what the Steelers had offered Mike Wallace before his hold out and far more than what Antonio Brown got instead.

The Steelers will suffer without home run threat Mike Wallace, but Mike Wallace is no where near with the money Miami is paying him.

Steelers Far From Not Idle – Foote, Burress, and Johnson Return

While the Steelers never wade into to the free agent signing free for alls, they were  hardly idle back in Pittsburgh. 24 hours before free agency began, the Steelers came to terms with Ramon Foster who signed what is reported to be a 3 year 6 million dollar contract with between 900 and 800 thousand guaranteed.

Ramon Foster had been getting feelers from other teams and the Steelers acted quickly to keep him off the market, as they did with Larry Foote who’d been courted by Pittsburgh West aka the Arizona Cardinals. The Steelers had been in talks with Larry Foote, and are desperately thin at inside linebacker, especially as Sean Spence’s season if not his entire career are in serious doubt at this point.

The Steelers also made what journalists were describing as a “surprise” move, by signing former Kevin Colbert first round pick Plaxico Burress to a one year deal for the league minimum. After the season ended, there’d been talk that Burress would be back, but as recently as Tuesday morning Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette claimed that any Burress signing would happen in June.

And late in the day it was reported that the Steelers agreed to terms with David Johnson, their fullback – tight end who was injured last year in preseason at the hands of Marcus Gilbert. With Heath Miller ailing, David Paulson and David Johnson now give the Steelers two healthy tight ends.

Colon Expected to be Cut

Even if the Steelers did turn a few heads by locking down a few of their own players to contracts, the exodus will continue as Rashard Mendenhall and Keenan Lewis are expected to receive offers from other teams.

• And so might Willie Colon. 

The Steelers ability to resign Ramon Foster makes Colon, who has finished the last three seasons in injured reserve and earned an average of a million dollars per game actually played, expendable.

The Steelers are expected to cut Willie Colon, but designating him as a post-June 1st cut, which will allow Colon to seek another offer while the Steelers can prorate the dead money impact on the salary cap over two years.

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