Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images Chase Claypool of the Pittsburgh Steelers is tackled by Levi Wallace of the Buffalo Bills on September 12, 2021.
After spending his first four NFL seasons with the Buffalo Bills, cornerback Levi Wallace admits he was “on the fence of either staying with Buffalo or going to Pittsburgh” to play for head coach Mike Tomlin. So he said during an interview with Justin Spears of The Tucson Star on the March 30, 2022 edition of The Wildcast.
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“When my agent called and he was like, ‘You should think about going to Pittsburgh,’ I said, okay, I’ll call you back, let me pray about this,” continued the 26-year-old Tucson native.
“I prayed and I said, ‘Lord, if you want me in Pittsburgh, let me know, give me a sign.’ Man, I’m just sitting there just contemplating and I look down, bro, and I had black and gold shorts on, bro, and I was like, ‘You know what, there it is, there’s a sign, you know what I mean? The Lord must want me to go to Pittsburgh.’”
It was at that point that Wallace called his agent and proclaimed: “Let’s go, let’s do it,” after which he inked a two-year contract worth a total of $8 million, a deal that was first reported by Jordan Schultz, host of The Game Day NFL.
Levi Wallace Wanted to Play for Mike Tomlin
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason that Wallace chose the Steelers.
It sounds as if Mike Tomlin played a role too. During the Wildcast Podcast he notes “… you hear from the locker room, just the players that are already there, how they just love to follow him and just how great of a leader he is.”
Wallace also notes that the Steelers had interest in him coming out of Alabama. In fact, he says he received an offer to sign as an undrafted free agent, “but at the time Buffalo just felt like the right fit for me.”
During the podcast interview Wallace also talked about several other connections to the Steelers, including how his mom was a fan of the Steel Curtain back in the 1970s, and how he has long been a fan of Steelers Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu.
“It was time for me to go there and try something new in a different city and a different environment and just see the opportunities they have there and how I can be an impact on that team,” concluded Wallace.
Levi Wallace Figures to Start in Pittsburgh
As it happens, the expectation is that Wallace will be a starter in Pittsburgh, just like he was in Buffalo, this according to Jordan Schultz’s Steelers source.
Levi Wallace is a big get for Pittsburgh who will immediately pay dividends in the rugged AFC North. “He’s a starter for us,” a team source said. #Steelers ⚫️🟡
Indeed Wallace started all 52 of the Bills games in which he appeared, per Pro Football Reference, during which time he recorded 219 tackles (171 solo), including seven tackles for loss, six interceptions, 30 passes defensed and one fumble recovery.
He is likely to start opposite Ahkello Witherspoon, who was acquired in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks in September 2021 and was re-signed to a new two-year contract on March 25, 2022, as noted by Teresa Varley of Steelers.com.
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