The Miami Dolphins were rumored to have put wide receiver Mike Wallace on the trade block earlier this winter, though that report was disputed and subsequently no deal transpired.
Perhaps a trade won’t be Wallace’s ticket out of town, though.
The team is interviewing some of the draft’s top wide receiver prospects expected to go in the late teens or early 20s, and if Miami spends its first-round pick on a wide receiver to add to an already deep position on its roster, it might mean Wallace’s future with the Dolphins beyond next season is in question, according to the Miami Herald.
LSU wideout Odell Beckham Jr. was one of the Dolphins’ 30 permitted non-locate visits. Beckham is the fourth of the team’s 30 visits on wide receivers. USC’s Marqise Lee, Mississippi’s Donte Moncrief, and Clemson’s Martavis Bryant have all booked visits, while the team has rumored interest in Oregon State’s Brandin Cooks and Florida State’s Kelvin Benjamin.
Spending so much time with some of the draft’s top wide receivers in addition to reports that Wallace is available for trade — is more than a coincidence. Per the report:
Which all raises the question: If the Dolphins are perfectly content with their receiver group, why are they summoning several potential first- and second-round receivers to Davie?
Due diligence? Perhaps.
But having the receivers travel to team headquarters and meet with the coaches and front office suggests more than simple due diligence, especially because the Dolphins already have met with all these receivers at the Combine.
Wallace is signed with Miami through the 2017 season, scheduled to earn $9.85 million in 2014 and $11.45 million in 2016 and 2017 before being an unrestricted free agent in 2018 when he’s 31 years old.
He was the team’s marquee free-agent signing last offseason, and many believe general manager Jeff Ireland overpaid for the former Pittsburgh Steelers standout. New Miami general manager Dennis Hickey may want to still unload Wallace’s $15 million contract and can do so if he’s traded by June 1, then the team would only be accountable for the $8.8 million salary cap hit.
