Even though he’s yet to arrive for the start of training camp, tackle Alejandro Villanueva and his agent are reportedly currently in contract extension talks with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
According to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Steelers guard Ramon Foster revealed Thursday afternoon upon his arrival at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe that Villanueva’s agent, Jason Bernstein, has been discussing a new deal with the team. Even so, Foster also said Thursday that he’s unsure if his left side counterpart will show up for the start of training camp on time.
“Do I think he’ll be here? We’ll see,” Foster said. “I won’t jump to conclusions. I know they’ve been talking and we’ll see how far that goes.”
Villanueva, who has yet to sign his $615,000 exclusive rights tender he received earlier in the year, was a full participant during all of the team’s offseason practices after signing an injury waiver that allowed him to do so. The former Army captain started every game at left tackle for the Steelers last season and his quality of play increased along the way.
Near the conclusion of the team’s offseason practices, Villanueva indicated that he was unsure if he’d report to training camp on time as he was leaving that decision in the hands of his agent.
If indeed Villanueva is currently in contract talks with the Steelers, one would think he’d be required by the organization to show up at training camp and sign his tender before a new deal is consummated.
We’ll know soon if Villanueva has arrived in time for the team’s annual pre-camp conditioning test.
