Pittsburgh, PA – Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace has apparently ended his holdout, reporting to the club's practice facility on Tuesday.
"Sorry for the wait!!" Wallace tweeted.
The Pro Bowl receiver was expected to sign his restricted free agent tender, a one-year deal that would pay him $2.742 million. He had been hoping to sign a long-term extension, something the Steelers gave fellow wideout Antonio Brown.
"I'm ready to be back. I'm ready to be with my teammates. I'm ready to go," Wallace told reporters.
The Steelers finish the preseason Thursday against Carolina but Wallace won't be allowed on the field until Monday.
He showed up 12 days before the Steelers open the regular season Sept. 9 at Denver. Although that gives him time to get ready, coach Mike Tomlin wouldn't commit to saying the receiver would be good to go.
"He hasn't done anything other than show up," Tomlin said.
Wallace caught 72 passes for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns last year and has 171 catches for 3,206 yards and 24 scores in his three NFL seasons. The 26-year-old said he doesn't foresee a problem getting into game shape despite his holdout.
"I've been working out. I've been doing really good conditioning so that's not really going to be a problem," Wallace said. "The first couple of days I might be a little more tired than the rest of the guys, but that's not because I'm not in good shape."
Wallace said he's learning the playbook. He told Steelers linebacker James Harrison in a video posted online that he knows it "in and out, for the most part."
He told reporters he didn't want to be away from his teammates and that his contract issue was "in the past."
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