Saying he wants to retire with the Steelers, wide receiver Hines Ward ended his two-week holdout tonight and, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, joined his teammates on the sideline for their opening preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Heinz Field.

Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Steelers' wide receiver Hines Ward appeared at a pregame news conference tonight to announce he would end his holdout and report to camp.

He will report to practice Wednesday when the Steelers resume training camp at St. Vincent College and remain with the team no matter how negotiations go, he said.

"I want to get this thing resolved," Ward said at a pregame news conference set up through the Steelers at Heinz Field.

"If it takes me coming back to get the negotiations started up again, then so be it. I'm willing to move forward on a positive note. Yes, I held out for two weeks. There's nothing I can do about that. I'm here today. I'm looking for my agent and front office to continue negotiating while I'm in training camp. That's why I'm here."

Negotiations, which the Steelers said ended when Ward's holdout began July 31, are expected to resume as early as tomorrow.

Before he made his final decision to return to the Steelers, Ward said he had "a very, very long conversation" with coach Bill Cowher last night.

"I needed to hear that from my head coach, just his support," Ward said. "It's been a long time since we've had a conversation like that. To me, I needed that. That's why I'm here. I'm here to show good faith ... hey, let's get something done because I want to retire as a Steeler."

Ward has one year remaining on a contract worth $1.66 million this season, but wants guaranteed money that puts him in the upper echelon of NFL receivers -- even though he said it's unrealistic to receive Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss or Terrell Owens money.

The 29-year-old Ward disliked being mentioned almost daily with Owens, who wants more money a year after signing a $49 million contract with the Eagles. Ward said, "I hate seeing me put in this situation. It's totally different."

Ward's absence threatened to create a major distraction for a team that played in the AFC championship game last season, and left quarterback Ben Roethlisberger without either starting wide receiver from his unbeaten rookie regular season. Plaxico Burress signed with the Giants during the offseason.