Sanders says a couple of interesting things

I did an hour of radio on Sunday from the Pittsburgh Auto Show with Gerry Dulac. Then, after I finished, Steelers receiver Emmanuel Sanders came on to replace me for the final hour.

I know, I know, I was a poor warm-up act, kind of like bringing out your cousin's garage band to open for The Who.

But Sanders did have a couple of interesting things to say.

First was that Mike Tomlin told Sanders in his exit interview that he will handle kickoff and punt returns - at least that's the plan - because Antonio Brown is now the full-time No. 2, while Sanders is No. 3.

That's tough not to use your Pro Bowl return guy, and something tells me that Brown will be back there in crucial situations, but they have to save the wear and tear on a critical part of the offense.

The other interesting thing Sanders said - and kudos to Dulac for asking - was how often Ben Roethlisberger checked out of running plays.

Sanders estimated it at 20 percent of the time, saying Roethlisberger would go to the line of scrimmage with two plays called, one a run, the other a pass.

That's just one player's recall of things, but it would explain some of the offensive inbalance the Steelers have had.

Brown has no trouble meeting Haley

Antonio Brown today Tweeted - he's a Tweeting fool - a photo of he and new offensive coordinator Todd Haley in the Steelers locker room.

Brown just got back into Pittsburgh yesterday after his whirlwind tour of the country and met up with Haley in less than a day.

He did this by, you know, going down to the Steelers offices and seeking him out.

Yet somehow, Ben Roethlisberger hasn't been able to find Haley. Go figure?

Sounds like a little more drama from the king of drama.

I have a lot of respect for Roethlisberger the player. But I could do without all of the other stuff.

Then again, is it Roethlisberger making a big deal out of not talking to Haley yet or certain segments of the media?

So many of the issues with Roethlisberger are media driven as guys try to back their own agendas.

© I'll be on ESPN 970-AM from noon to 1 p.m. Sunday at the Pittsburgh Auto show talking Steelers football.

9.4 million reasons the Steelers won't tag Wallace

There has been some supposition that the Steelers will simply slap the franchise tag on wide receiver Mike Wallace rather than risk losing him as a restricted free agent.
Teams can begin placing the franchise tag on players Feb. 20.
Here are the franchise numbers for 2012:

Quarterback $16.1 million
Running Back $7.7 million
Wide Receiver $9.4 million
Tight End $5.4 million
Offensive Line $9.4 million
Defensive End $10.6 million
Defensive Tackle $7.9 million
Linebacker $8.8 million
Cornerback $10.6 million
Safety $6.2 million

As you can see, the cost to franchise Wallace would be $9.4 million, much too much for the salary cap-strapped Steelers to add to their cap.

But remember, the free agent market at many positions - including wide receiver - is ridiculously deep this year.

In other words, why give up a first-round draft pick to sign Wallace when you can sign DeSean Jackson, Wes Welker, Stevie Johnson, Dwayne Bowe or Marques Colston instead?

Colbert speaks out

Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said today that the team has had internal discussions about the future of wide receiver Hines Ward, but that no decision has been made about whether Ward will be part of the team in 2012.

Colbert also had a couple of other interesting statements.

First, he's not counting on Rashard Mendenhall to return healthy in 2012 after suffering an ACL tear in the final game of the regular season.

Second, the team will not sign any of its free agents before the March 13 deadline.

In the case of Mendenhall, that means the Steelers will likely be looking for a running back in the offseason - either through the draft or free agency.

It's a safe approach for Colbert to take. Assume Mendenhall won't be back healthy, and if he is, it's an added bonus.

As for the free agent statement, it helps make a case for the Steelers to keep Ward.

Yes, Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders are under contract, but with Jerricho Cotchery set to become a free agent, there's no proven depth behind them.

Steelers to cut Ward?

According to the NFL Network's Jason LaCanfora, who apparently has a direct line to head coach Mike Tomlin thanks to his NFL affiliation, the Steelers have decided to release wide receiver Hines Ward rather than pay him $4 million to be the team's No. 4 receiver next season.

There was some thought to cutting Ward's salary, something the receiver was open to, but the Steelers, according to LaCanfora, have decided they have no use for a No. 4 receiver who can't play special teams.

© In other news, the Steelers have restructured the contracts of both Ike Taylor and Lawrence Timmons, moving them closer to getting under the league salary cap of approximately $124 million.

In the past few days, the Steelers have freed up $15 million by restructuring the contracts of LaMarry Woodley, Timmons and Taylor.

They also saved over $3 million on Wednesday with the release of Bryant McFadden and Arnaz Battle.

Thoughts on Haley

I have largely reserved my thoughts on the Steelers' hiring of Todd Haley to this point.

But after meeting with Haley today and then hearing what Ben Roethlisberger told the Post-Gazette, I can hold back no longer.

Roethlisberger reportedly told the P-G that he has heard from a lot of people regarding Haley, some good some bad, but that he is reserving judgment.

He then, however, said he'd hate to see the offense changed because it could set the team's young receivers back two or three years.

Which ones? The ones who have only been in the league for two or three years?

That is a ridiculous statement by Roethlisberger and, though Haley did not address the quarterback's comments directly, he did say that players usually see that he has their best interests at heart when he is doing things.

Roethlisberger liked Bruce Arians. And he was comfortable with Arians as offensive coordinator because he got to call a lot of the shots.

That dynamic is now gone and Roethlisberger is wary of what the results will be.

I get that.

But the Steelers made the decision to move on from Arians because they felt he was an enabler.

We always heard the excuses. The Steelers were a play away here or there, they weren't all on the same page, etc., etc.

Haley won't settle for excuses. He'll want results.

And if that means not playing Chris Kemoeatu at left guard for two seasons longer than he should have, so be it.

If that means Roethlisberger will be forced to get the ball out of his hands more quickly to take fewer sacks in an attempt to keep him from being injured, that's just dandy as well.

Haley has shown that he's not afraid to call what he thinks his team does best. When he was with the Cardinals, it was a prolific passing attack. When he moved on to Kansas City, a power-running game took over.

As Haley said Thursday, his emphasis is on winning. And Roethlisberger, who is as competitive as they come, won't have a problem with that.

Steelers begin offeseason moves

The Steelers on Wednesday began the process of getting under the 2012 NFL salary cap by releasing veterans Bryant McFadden and Arnaz Battle.

McFadden, a starting cornerback at the beginning of the season, lost his starting job to William Gay after suffering a hamstring injury.

Battle, the team's special teams captain, also struggled through an injury-plagued 2011 season.

Their release, coupled with a restructuring of linebacker LaMarr Woodley's contract, saves the Steelers around $10 million in cap space.

The Steelers are still around $10 million over the 2012 cap, but have another three weeks to alleviate that issue.

Up next on the restructuring table could be linebacker Lawrence Timmons and nose tackle Casey Hampton.

Timmons' deal would be a straight restructure, with the team looking to lower his $9.1 million cap hit, while Hampton will likely have to take a pay cut from his $4.9 million salary to stick around.

© The St. Louis Rams have asked the Steelers for permission to speak to front office man Omar Khan regarding their general manager opening.