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According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette staffer Ed Bouchette, Ben Roethlisberger does not seem concerned about his "little torn rotator cuff" in his right arm, nor as worried about the new offense and turning 30, as he is eager to see Mike Wallace rejoin the Steelers in training camp.

Roethlisberger's desire to get Wallace, the speedy wide receiver who is holding out in an effort to get the Steelers to sign him to a long-term deal, is understandable. Wallace is a dangerous threat. But does a dangerous downfield threat matter if Big Ben can't hurl the ball down the field?

Well. ... Roethlisberger doesn't believe his right arm will hold back that offense. It was injured in the Steelers Nov. 6 loss to Baltimore. As Bouchette noted, the quarterback mentioned it in the spring but this is the first time he's publicly called it a rotator cuff tear. However, he says it feels fine, that his arm feels strong and that it should not hamper any of his throws.

"I'm good. It's OK, just sore," he told Bouchette when asked about his arm injury. "I have a little torn rotator cuff. That doesn't heal. We just have to hope it doesn't tear the rest of the way, according to Doc," he said, laughing.

After practice, head coach Mike Tomlin said there was no concern about Roethlisberger's arm and he is not limited in making any throws. But Roethlisberger said he does take some precautions before practice, and not just because of the injury.

"It's part of getting older, too. If you watch walk-throughs, I used to throw all the time. Now it's just backing off. Now I don't ever throw during walk-throughs. It's less throwing; I think that's smart anyway. As you get older, you just need to take care of yourself whether you're hurt or not."

Suddenly, even the soreness seemed to disappear.

"It actually feels great,' Roethlisberger said. "I don't have any pains anymore. Let's just hope it doesn't get any worse."

The QB spent some time later Wednesday trying to further dial back the talk.

"It was only a partial tear," he after the initial report drew considerable interest. "We worked hard to get it right, and I never missed any playing time. No surgery. There weren't any injections. Nothing but simple rehab.

"You didn't see any drop-off in me throwing the ball last year and you haven't seen any yet this year. It's a non-issue. It happened so long ago. Seriously, it's a non-issue. I'm just fine."

As for concerns about the offense and Wallace, Roethlisberger seems equally unconcerned.

Wallace skipped all the team's spring workouts and has stayed away from training camp. He received no offers as a restricted free agent this year after the Steelers tendered him a one-year, $2.742 million contract that remains on the table. They had been negotiating a multiple-year deal but that ended with his holdout. General manager Kevin Colbert said negotiations will not resume until he signs the one-year contract and reports to the team.

In his talks with Wallace, Roethlisberger has come to the conclusion that it will not be long now.

"I don't know what's going on with his agent or what they're telling each other, but he wants to be here," Roethlisberger said. "I believe he will be here and I think he'll be here soon."

Once he rejoins the Steelers, he will get a crash course in Todd Haley's new offense.

"I'm sure as soon as he's here he will pick it up," Roethlisberger predicted. "He plays one position, and that's great, so he can just learn his spot. I think when he gets here, we'll make sure, and I'll work extra with him, I'll stay after practice if we have to. Anything to get him up to speed and get ready to roll."

Roethlisberger also acknowledged liking the new offense.

"I think it gives us great opportunities to use the weapons we have. We're still learning it, I mean, we put in part of the offense, we haven't even seen it all yet. ... Once we start getting week to week, we'll see how the game-planning starts going, the play calling in the game, even the preseason I'm looking forward to kind of seeing his mentality when it comes to a game."

The Steelers practiced the no-huddle offense for the first time on Tuesday, and Haley talked about using it more often this season, something Roethlisberger enjoys hearing. Haley also said he will help him call the plays until he becomes more familiar with them, then turn the whole thing over to his quarterback.

"He would tell me the play and I would call it," Roethlisberger said of Tuesday's drills. "I was fine with that. In the past, I wouldn't have liked it too much. Right now, I'm for him helping me out because I don't know it well enough yet and I don't want to put us in a bad situation."

Indeed, Haley's offense seems to have something for everyone.

For Roethlisberger, there's the promise of virtually free rein to run the no-huddle offense. For running backs Isaac Redman and Rashard Mendenhall (when he gets healthy), there's the promise of a blocking fullback. For the wide receivers, there are simpler pass routes that don't require as much reading as they do reacting.

For the linemen, there aren't as many blocking adjustments as before.

According to Pittsburgh Tribune-Review staffer Alan Robinson, the offense seems designed to run when it has to run and pass when it has to pass.

Roethlisberger , the NFL's most-sacked quarterback, should benefit from a system that's designed to keep him upright, in rhythm and on target all while getting rid of the ball as quickly as possible. Kurt Warner loved the Haley offense, and Haley seems confident Roethlisberger will, too.

Quicker releases might be a great way to keep Roethlisberger healthy -- if for no other reason than to keep him quiet. As SI.com's Jim Trotter asked in the wake of today's revelation about the shoulder: "Does any elite player publicly disclose his injuries more readily than Ben Roethlisberger?"

The easy answer, of course, is: No.

But from a Fantasy perspective, all the injury talk could be a positive. At the very least, it will drive Big Ben's ADP down a bit. And he already has a very reasonable ninth-round price tag.

I'll go ahead and suggest you could do much worse for your QB2 than Big Ben. ...

Meanwhile, assuming Wallace eventually shows up, Haley's simpler pass routes seem to play to his strength -- which is speed rather than route-running -- and help him get up to speed more quickly.

Assuming his mind is right. After all, when Wallace decided not to take the $40 million plus the Steelers were ready pay him, Antonio Brown was more than happy to do so.

As the Tribune-Review noted, this is the first time the Steelers have given this much money to a player with a body of work so thin. Three career starts, two touchdowns, a couple of thousand yards receiving and on returns paid off in one of the biggest contracts in Steelers history.

If Wallace is to ever get the payoff he thinks it deserves, it might have to be in another team's uniform.

That became apparent when Brown received his contract extension last week.

As SI.com's Peter King reported, the Steelers valued the more versatile Brown more than the more one-dimensional Wallace.

But it goes beyond that. According to ESPN, Brown, despite not starting until late last season, had the second-most first down catches on third down plays. He was eighth in the league in receiving yards from Week 7 on. During the same period, Wallace was 32nd in receiving yards and 44th in receptions.

Anybody watching the Steelers on a regular basis could have seen the transition -- if not statistically, then simply in Brown's emergence as the team's best receiver. Whether it was route-running, making the tough catches and showing a level of concentration we didn't think he had, Brown looked like a true No. 1 as the season wound down.

So the question is this: Even if he shows up physically, will Wallace be totally on board mentally?

Stay tuned. I'll be following up.