RUMOR: Vikings Expected to Cut Mike Wallace
Sam Neumann
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No, it wasn’t Schefter or Mortensen, or Vensel or Goessling, or even anyone with an actual human name. But earlier today, someone tweeted that the Vikings are expected to cut Mike Wallace.
Vikings are expected to cut WR Mike Wallace.
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) February 10, 2016
As you can see, the twitter account goes by the moniker “NFL Update,” and does have more than 33,000 followers, for whatever that’s worth. Other than that, we here at VT know very little about this account or who runs it. Yesterday, it tweeted the Giants were expected to release LB Jon Beason, and today Beason announced his retirement, so…sort of accurate?
It needs to be stressed this is nothing more than a rumor and, perhaps, just one person’s opinion at this point. There has been plenty of speculation regarding the status of Wallace and his $11.5 million contract in 2016, but thus far no credible sources have reported anything. The Star Tribune’s Matt Vensel did say he doesn’t expected Wallace to be back next season in a column last month, but that was just one part of a larger piece making educated guesses on how next year’s roster would look.
One tweet without a source doesn’t equate to anything other than a rumor. But, the rumblings have begun.
Yesterday I wrote a post advocating bringing Wallace back, which is not a consensus opinion by any means, but did spur some discussion. Mike Wallace is clearly overpaid for his level of production, and will likely be asked to take a pay cut if he hasn’t been already. If asked and he refuses, the Vikings will undoubtedly release him.
Many fans are ready to see the team move on from Wallace, arguing he added little to the offense in 2015 and the cap space could be better used elsewhere. Others think he can still bring something to the table, and the Vikings need as many offensive weapons as they can get. Time will tell what they’ll do, and it may not be long now.