Mike Wallace Trade Is A Done Deal
Adam Warwas
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Rick Spielman and the Vikings brass are currently hosting a dinner with defensive end Michael Johnson.
Dinner party that I saw: Spielman, Zimmer, George Edwards, Andre Patterson and Johnson.
— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingESPN) March 14, 2015
First, however, Rick Spielman had to button up a big trade that creates as many questions about the 2015 Vikings as it answers.
The Vikings have confirmed that they have traded for Miami Dolphins deep threat Mike Wallace. Reports are indicating that the Vikings got Wallace and a seventh round pick in exchange for a fifth round selection. The exact terms have not yet been confirmed (i.e. specific picks, pick years) that I have seen.
The other big question is whether or not Mike Wallace will be coming to Minnesota under a new contract. The Dolphins have already paid the two toughest years of the deal, in terms of dead cap space, but it is possible that a restructure is a factor. This could be both a good thing and a bad thing, as the devil is always in the details.
Early indications are that the Vikings will inherit Wallace’s current contract, however, and that likely means the Dolphins will pay a portion of his salary.
There have been no alterations to Mike Wallace’s contract I’m told. Looks like that trade goes down as-is in terms of his contract
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 14, 2015
Another question is whether or not Wallace even wants to be in Minnesota. Much has been made of the perception that he chose Miami over Minnesota two years ago because he disliked cold weather, and it seems likely that those reports were exaggerated, but one has to wonder about a guy that pretty blatantly quit on his team last year.
Then, Armando Salguero, who was the Miami reporter all over the news from the beginning, dropped this little nugget of fun:
One more thing I’m hearing on Mike Wallace traded to Minny: No, he’s not thrilled by it.
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) March 13, 2015
The last remaining question is whether or not this impacts the status of any other receivers on the Vikings roster. Cordarrelle Patterson has started to see rumors pop up regarding his long-term standing with the Vikings and Greg Jennings is scheduled to have an $11 million cap hit in 2015.
Wallace is a legitimate deep threat that has a nose for the end zone. He will likely be the team’s top wide out from Day One with Greg Jennings, Charles Johnson, Jarius Wright, and Cordarrelle Patterson vying for position on the depth chart.