The second part of the interview that Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert gave to SiriusXM NFL Radio centered around wide receiver Mike Wallace and his upcoming restricted free agency.
Colbert was asked first his thoughts on Wallace in regards to his future and Colbert answered that by saying, “Mike, I don\’t even think he has scratched the surface. He is a great player. His deep speed is unmatched in this league. I feel very confident it saying that, but I know we want him to finish his career here. We know he can only get better and we know that he may draw some interest from around the league. But ultimately it\’s our decision and nobody else\’s, because even if he signs a tender from another squad, we can still say yes or no. So we have comfort in that. Where it goes? I don\’t know, but I do know that Mike want wants to end his career with us and we want him to. So usually when you have that, you have a great chance at getting that done.”
Colbert was then asked if he was at all cornered that if Wallace does indeed hit the market as a restricted free agent, that another team might have the cap room, and make an offer that the Steelers cant match. Colbert replied, “Yeah that possibility exist, but again, we can say yes or no. It\’s like any negotiation. People get upset with the agents for asking, all you have to do is say no. If you don\’t want to do it, don\’t do it. If you do want to do it, do it. There doesn\’t have to be a discussion or blame. You get to make the decision and ultimately we hold the cards in any restricted deal.
Lastly Colbert was asked if he thought they might still be able to sign Wallace to a deal before free agency starts and Colbert said, “There is. The only unknown is that we still don\’t know what the cap is. We don\’t know what other work we have to do to get in compliance with the cap. We know that we are probably still going to have to do some more restructurings and some more terminations. We don\’t know what amount yet, so we cant talk about adding anybody to that mix until we get in compliance, which we still have some work to do in the next two and a half weeks.”
[audio:http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2012-02-23/AvdoipzBxvjkJxFjvblFFxxtnHouGhkfxorxIFycgCDFCadgAmtkzivEEHmp/2-23-12_Kevin_Colbert.mp3]
