Should The Dolphins Consider Trading Mike Wallace?

James Walker of ESPN takes a look at whether or not the Dolphins should consider trading WR Mike Wallace this offseason.

• Andrew Healy of Football Outsiders (Insider) proposed the idea on Tuesday, suggesting that the Dolphins should trade Wallace to a need in obvious need of a receiver.
• Healy specifically mentioned the Seahawks as a team that would make sense for Wallace and added that Miami could recoup a “mid-round draft pick” in return for him.

According to Walker, a mid-round pick “isn’t close” to the Wallace’s value, as he’s still one of the best deep threats in the NFL.

Walker mentions that the problems with Wallace in Miami boil down to the fact that the Dolphins are not using him properly. Ryan Tannehill has struggled quite a bit with his deep-ball accuracy and the team’s offensive scheme hasn’t helped much either.

Walker writes that the Dolphins would have a hard time finding a decent replacement for the loss in production they would see by parting ways with Wallace.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald recently reported that Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey recently met with Wallace, and they are continuing to “mull what to do with their star receiver.”

• Jackson interprets this news as though the Dolphins are “open-minded about his situation” and would like to determine whether the situation is “salvageable” before parting ways with Wallace.
• Jackson has spoke to a close friend of Wallace who said he “loves Miami,” and just “wants an opportunity to make a difference.”

Last month, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross declined to say if Wallace will be back with the team next year.

“I don’t think anyone really knows,” Ross said of Wallace’s status with the team, per Jackson.

His 2014 season reportedly ended with him asking out of the game, and there were already concerns about his work ethic and overall production.

Wallace, 28, signed a five-year, $60 million contract that included $30 million guaranteed with Miami back in 2013, so it clearly disappointing that this is something being talked about just a few years into this agreement.

He stands to make a base salary of $9.85 million for the 2015 season to go along with $11.45 million in the final two years of his contract.

• According to OverTheCap.com, trading Wallace would free up $5.5 million in available cap space and create another $6.6 million in dead money.
• Releasing Wallace outright would free up $2.5 million in cap space next year. However, designating him as a post-June 1 release would boost their cap saving to $6.9 million based on OTC’s cap calculator.

This season, Wallace caught 67 passes for 862 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns over the course of 16 games. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the N0. 53 receiver out of 110 qualifying players.

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