Dolphins swapped Wallace for Ajayi

The Miami Dolphins once had Ravens receiver Mike Wallace on their roster. It was one of those bold Jeff Ireland free agent moves that simply didn’t work out.

Wallace was let go by the Dolphins two short years after he arrived via free agency in 2013. Wallace never really made the impact that the Dolphins had hoped mainly because Miami didn’t have the right quarterback to utilize the singular talent.

Mike Wallace was a deep threat one note player who rarely fought for a ball and rarely ran routes that were not deep down the field. Miami needed the number one wide-out to do far more in order to help Ryan Tannehill grow. Instead, Wallace became a distraction to the team and in 2015, Dennis Hickey had seen enough and Wallace was gone.

The move to sign Wallace to a $60 million contract represented yet another off-season of over spending under Jeff Ireland who was trying to make the team relevant again. After two seasons in Miami and the firing of Ireland a year later, Wallace’s future wasn’t very bright in the NFL.

Miami sent the enigmatic receiver to the Vikings for the Vikings 5th round pick. That selection was used to draft running back Jay Ajayi. The two players will face each other this afternoon when the Dolphins play the Ravens.

Wallace’s one season in Minnesota paved the way for him to join the Ravens this past off-season. And in Baltimore Wallace has played much better.

Eyes today will be on the two players who impacted both teams with that trade. Wallace says he holds no grudges towards Miami telling reporters earlier this week that the Dolphins gave him a good life (financial security).

For the Dolphins it’s the J-Train that fans will be watching closely. Jay Ajayi’s rushing totals have dropped significantly since his back to back 200 yard games but that is easily attributed to the injuries along the offensive line that has seen Branden Albert, Mike Pouncey, and Laremy Tunsil miss games.

Tunsil and Albert are expected back today.

There is no bad blood between the Dolphins and Mike Wallace but it’s clear that the Dolphins made a mistake when they put so much money into that deal. Miami has since, it appears, stopped overspending in free agency but it will be interesting to see if success this year makes them think they are only a player or two away next off-season.