Steelers Extend Antonio Brown - "Check Mate" for Mike Wallace

The chess game going back and forth between the Pittsburgh Steelers organization and Mike Wallace has taken a turn, and it doesn't even involve the speedy WR from Ole Miss.  No, Mike Wallace is still looking for his contract, and while he is sitting at home twiddling his thumbs, the Steelers rewarded their up and coming young WR Antonio Brown with a contract that will give him an extra 42 Million with a hefty signing bonus.  How does this affect the chess match between Mike Wallace and how is it "check mate" for Wallace?  The Steelers are made it very clear that they weren't happy with him not reporting to camp.  On top of that, with him not reporting they decided it would be smarter for them to sign Brown instead of sending that money towards Wallace.  They rewarded the player that is at camp and working his butt off to improve himself and the team.  By doing so, Wallace now has a couple options...in my opinion all of which could benefit the Steelers in some way or another (Reminder: The Steelers will recieve a compensatory pick if Wallace leaves via free agency in the upcoming draft):

#1 - Sign his franchise tender and report to camp.

#2 - Hold out, return at week 10 and play the remainder of the season and hit the open market as a UFA at the end of the season.

#3 - Hold out the entire season and hope someone picks up up as a UFA next season.
#4 - The Steelers allow teams to talk with Wallace and his agent and terms of a trade could start to progress.

#5 - He reports to camp signing his tender, and the Steelers work out a new contract that keeps him with Pittsburgh for years to come.

Obviously, some of these options will NEVER happen.  I don't see Wallace holding out the entire season as it would be detrimental to his career.  I also don't see the Steelers trading Wallace unless they get something major in return for what they would expect in a trade for one of their top WRs.  No team will give a 1st round pick because every NFL team had that option to do so this off season with him being a restricted free agent and no one did anything.  So the question remains, what do YOU think will happen with Wallace in the next few days/weeks? 

As a Steeler fan I still hope that Wallace would be able to at least sign his tender and play this year as a true Black N Gold player, but by the way he has conducted himself in negotiations, that could be a problem for the team.  On Twitter and on this site several fans said they'd rather see the Steelers sign Brown than Wallace.  You got your wish!  Now, if Wallace chooses to not play, it becomes HUGE for Emmanuel Sanders to be able to step up into his position and be able to take the top off the defense to open up things for Cotchery, Brown, and Miller.  Is he able to do that? Time will tell.  I have a feeling this preseason will be alot more important than most considering all of the "newness" associated with this Steelers team. 

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