Will veteran wide receiver Mike Wallace wind up trading one purple jersey for another one? It’s quite possible as the Pittsburgh Steelers former third-round draft pick will reportedly visit with the Baltimore Ravens on Monday after being released by the Minnesota Vikings last week.
According to Don Banks of Sports Illustrated, the Ravens see Wallace as a potential “right price” free agent wide receiver who can be a vertical threat. He goes on to indicate that the Ravens interest in Wallace is likely contingent on him accepting a low-budget deal and that he’d fit in better with the Ravens than he did with the Vikings because of quarterback Joe Flacco having a better deep arm than Minnesota quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
While Wallace still likely possess the speed needed to be a big-play deep threat in the NFL, he’s only caught 30.5% of all deep passes thrown his way since he left Pittsburgh in 2013 as an unrestricted free agent. In his first four seasons in the league with the Steelers he caught 42.6% of all deep passes thrown his way and 22 of those receptions resulted in touchdowns.
Wallace was scheduled to earn $11.5 million with the Vikings in 2016 so it’s not surprising that they decided to release him after just one season. While Wallace’s market value has likely diminished greatly, it’s hard to imagine that he would be willing to sign for the minimum this early in the offseason.
While several fans are calling for the Steelers to bring back Wallace with it now looking like wide receiver Martavis Bryant could potentially miss the entire 2016 season because of a suspension, it really is hard to envision that ultimately happening being as Pittsburgh still has a lot of depth at that position already on their roster.
Last season Wallace caught 39 passes for 473 yards and two touchdowns after being acquired by the Vikings during the offseason via a trade with the Miami Dolphins.
