Ravens Sign WR Mike Wallace

The Ravens have reportedly agreed to a new contract with former Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Mike Wallace. Wallace, who will turn 30 in August, eclipsed 1000 yards receiving in 2010 and 2011 with Pittsburgh, but had career lows in yards (473) and touchdowns (2) in his only season in Minnesota last year. The Ravens obviously hope he can rediscover his deep threat ways with Joe Flacco’s strong arm throwing to him.

RSR staff react to the news:

WR Mike Wallace is in the building and is expected to agree to a contract this afternoon. He's with Coach Harbaugh right now.

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) March 15, 2016

Tony Lombardi

The signing of Mike Wallace has that “60 Minutes” ticking going on in my head and it won’t end until I know the price the Ravens paid.

Schematically the Ravens can unleash their playbook because with speed on the outside like Wallace and Breshad Perriman, the field opens particularly inside the hash marks, enabling Steve Smith, Sr. and the tight ends to work underneath. It should also help the running game that was hampered by an overcrowded box in 2015 since the team had no deep threats commanding safety help.

Everything opens up…but hopefully not so much when it comes to Steve Bisciotti’s wallet.

Brian Bower

Not a big fan of Wallace but the Ravens are leaving no stone unturned in putting the best receiving corps together.

Wallace, despite being another year older after his least productive season, gives the Ravens another speedster and play maker on offense at what I hope is at a very cheap cost.

Tyler Lombardi

The good news is that it doesn’t factor into compensatory picks. The bad news is that Wallace was largely unproductive as a Viking. Then again, so was the entire Minnesota passing attack.

At his best, Wallace will provide the value that Torrey Smith provided during his time here. At his worst, he will be another Lee Evans/Chris Givens type bust of a signing.

How good of a value it is will depend on the price.

Kyle Rate

I could make a case that when all the Baltimore wide receivers are healthy, Wallace is only 4th, perhaps even 5th best of the group. I therefore hope this deal comes out team-friendly. With that being said, however, the speedy Breshad Perriman remains an unknown and we all have seen Wallace get deep over his career. His attitude doesn’t strike me as one that exactly meshes with John Harbaugh and Co., but on the other hand a change of environment/perspective and a cannon-armed quarterback could unlock a bit of a return to form for Wallace in 2016. Ozzie has stayed aggressive and remains convinced this team can win now.

Kyle Casey

Once an elite playmaker, Wallace is essentially a washed up player who is being brought in solely to be a speed threat. Whether it pays off or not is up in the air, but he’s at least an upgrade over the likes of Marlon Brown, Chris Matthews, Chris Givens and the long list of disappointing receivers the Ravens had in 2015.

Ryan Jones

When the Ravens signed Ben Watson the biggest question was were his stats last year simply a product of being in a high powered, tight end friendly offense? The situation with Mike Wallace is the other end of the spectrum. The Ravens are hoping that his weak stat lines in recent years are a result of being in subpar offenses with young/rookie quarterbacks under center.

The Ravens offense and Joe Flacco’s big arm are a perfect fit for Mike Wallace. It’s hard to predict how it will work out but the Ravens are wise to at least give it a shot.

Joe Polek

Why not! The Ravens are clearly “Going all in” in 2016, after having such a terrible 2015. Ben Watson helps in the TE position, Weddle gives them a ball-hawker on defense, and now Wallace gives the Ravens some speed on the outside that can actually catch the ball. They had too many young guys last year trying to catch the ball. Wallace will give them a veteran to help stretch the field and let Smith work underneath. I like it.

Adam Bonaccorsi

I’m a fan… assuming the dollars make sense. Wallace is at the point in his career where he’s a role player, which is exactly what the Ravens need him to be. Wallace remains a formidable deep threat that’ll stretch the D, allowing Smitty and the plethora of TE’s to work underneath in the short game. Adding a healthy Perriman at this point would be an added bonus.

Worth noting- despite the combo of Smitty, Wallace, Perriman & Aiken? I still think they go wideout in round 2 or 3 of the draft.

Mike Fast

I’m not thrilled with the signing, but I do like the fact that Wallace’s big-play is proven instead of hypothetical. Also, it’ll be sweet to see him score against the Steelers.

Dev Panchwagh

Maybe Mike Wallace can take a page out of Joey Galloway’s playbook. Remember Galloway, after being declared washed up from his stint in Dallas, came back strong as a Buccaneer. That’s because he still had his speed. Wallace is only 29. And he still has his speed. But his production or lack of production can’t be ignored with Miami and Minnesota. He’s a one-trick pony who doesn’t run a diverse route tree. Even when the Dolphins tried to get him involved on flanker screens and deep posts, he didn’t make much of an impact. The good news for Wallace is that the Ravens have Kamar Aiken and Steve Smith to run those underneath routes. If Wallace can force safeties to play back to honor his speed, Aiken and Smith can gobble up that coverage. Wallace may not have played well for Minnesota last season, but in a game against Denver (when facing Chris Harris Jr.) he proved that he can still get behind even the best corners.

Ken McKusick