Almost one year ago to the day, the Minnesota Vikings acquired Mike Wallace from the Miami Dolphins. In the trade, Minnesota got Wallace and a 7th round draft pick from last year's draft, while Miami received a 5th round pick from the Vikings. It was thought that Wallace could be the deep threat the Vikings offense has been missing since, roughly, Randy Moss got traded to Oakland in 2005.
But Wallace was a disappointment, and just before free agency started, the Vikings, not wanting to pay Wallace $11 million in 2016, released him. Today, he signed with the Ravens:
For the #Ravens and WR Mike Wallace, it's a 2-year deal worth $11.5M, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 15, 2016
So the Mike Wallace era ends not with a bang, but with a whimper. In his only season with the Vikings Wallace had career lows in just about every category, catching only 39 passes for 473 yards and two touchdowns. It was reported yesterday that there was a chance Wallace could return to Minnesota, but he shot that rumor down shortly after his signing. He also took a jab at Teddy Bridgewater and the Vikings offense on the way out the door:
Wallace says he wasn't going back to #Vikings. He used to envy deep ball opportunities Torrey Smith got playing with Flacco. #RavensTalk
— Clifton BrownCSN (@CliftonBrownCSN) March 15, 2016
Wallace: "You have a quarterback that can really sling the ball. That's what I need."
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) March 15, 2016
Wallace: "I'll show everybody. I've been taking a lot of heat. I'll promise I'll get the last laugh.":
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) March 15, 2016
@mattvensel "When this process started, I knew that I wasn’t going back to Minnesota. I was like, ‘I need a good quarterback."
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) March 15, 2016
@mattvensel "I need a quarterback who I know is proven and can get things done." That quote might be a little better for your purposes
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) March 15, 2016
Oh. Nice. Stay classy, Mike. Good locker room guy, my ass. So with Wallace gone, it would appear that WR would be a position that will be addressed very early in the draft, assuming they don't go out and make a couple of free agency signings.