HEADLINES

Mike Wallace

AFC Notes: Beckham, Dolphins, Chiefs

April 19th, 2014 at 8:45pm CST by Peter Sowards

A source confirmed to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald today that the Dolphins will host LSU wide receiver Odell Beckham, using one one of the team’s 30 allotted non-local visits.

Beckham caught 59 passes for 1,152 yards and eight touchdowns in 2013 for the Tigers and is projected as a first-round pick.

Does Beckham’s visit mean Miami is souring on Mike Wallace just one year into his contract? That’s the logic argued by Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith, noting that Wallace wasn’t signed by current GM Dennis Hickey and that Hickey “probably” doesn’t have any intentions with Wallace beyond this season. Or, the Dolphins are just doing their due diligence and trying to find out as much about as many worthy draft-eligible prospects as possible.

More news and notes from the American Football Conference…

  • A position-by-position look at the Chiefs‘ cap situation by Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star, as well as each player’s base salary, cap number, Pro Football Focus grade and contract expiration date.
  • The Chiefs may need to be prepared to draft a quarterback with the No. 23 pick, Paylor writes.
  • Four Patriots — Brandon Browner, Rob Gronkowski, Logan Mankins and Jerod Mayo — have an offseason workout bonus of $250K, and the team begins its offseason workouts on Monday, writes Field Yates of ESPNBoston.com. 15 players are eligible to receive offseason workout bonuses if they participate in at least 80-90% of the workouts with a total possible payout of $1.74MM.

Mike Wallace On Trade Block?

March 26th, 2014 at 11:14am CST by Luke Adams

11:14am: As expected, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, who cited a Dolphins source in shooting down La Canfora’s initial report, has done the same today, tweeting that the Dolphins haven’t spoken to anyone about Wallace, before or during this week’s league meetings. La Canfora clearly has at least one source who says otherwise, but as I noted below, Wallace’s contract makes a trade virtually impossible for now, so I doubt he’s going anywhere anytime soon.

10:45am: About a month ago, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported that the Dolphins were gauging the trade value of a few notable players, including wide receiver Mike Wallace. The report was quickly and unequivocally shot down by the team, but La Canfora has doubled down today, tweeting that Miami has “renewed attempts” to trade Wallace during this week’s league meetings.

Considering the Dolphins moved quickly to deny the first round of trade rumors involving Wallace, Cameron Wake, and Dion Jordan, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team did so again this time around — after last month’s strong denials, not responding to this report might essentially confirm that the club has interest in trading Wallace.

Either way, there are some reasons why the Dolphins could have interest in a deal. A new decision-making group is in place this offseason, led by GM Dennis Hickey, and with several holes still to fill on the roster even after adding a few free agents, the team might be better off using the cap space and/or draft picks created in a Wallace deal on multiple players.

Still, the Dolphins are just one year removed from signing Wallace to a huge long-term deal, and the club’s receiving corps would be pretty thin without him. According to La Canfora, teams are “doing homework” on Wallace, whose contract would make him a tough piece to move. The 27-year-old has a base salary of $15MM for 2014, and there aren’t many clubs who would still be able to take on that amount, even if they had interest. Considering the apparent lack of trade interest in DeSean Jackson, who has a base salary of $10.5MM, I’d be pretty surprised if there was a taker out there this offseason for Wallace, whether or not the Dolphins are actively looking for one.

AFC East Notes: Mallett, Byrd, Howard, Trades

March 2nd, 2014 at 10:51am CST by Rory Parks

Tom Brady is signed through the 2017 season, and the Patriots will be facing the same series of questions until that contract is up: should we draft his eventual replacement? Is the replacement already on the roster? Should we sign a veteran backup? Within the framework of those questions, Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald examines the status of current backup Ryan Mallett, who will be a free agent after the 2014 season.

There have been rumors that the Texans may be interested in Mallett, given his familiarity with the offense that Houston’s new head coach Bill O’Brien plans to install, and the Vikings might also have some interest. But despite Mallett’s potential and the fact that he has been mentored by Brady and Bill Belichick, his impending free agency might reduce the the return the Patriots could expect in a trade.

Further complicating the situation is the fact that, if New England were to take a QB in this year’s draft, that player’s rookie deal would expire at the same time as Brady’s. But with Mallett unlikely willing to wait until Brady plays out his contract before finally getting a shot, the Patriots probably have no choice but to trade him now or let him walk after this season. As such, the Pats will keep their eyes peeled for the next young quarterback to impress them the way Mallett did in 2011.

Some more notes from the AFC East:

  • The Bills have nearly $25MM in cap space, and Mark Gaughan of the Buffalo News examines how the team might utilize that flexibility. Most notably, Gaughan writes that Buffalo has enough space to retain Jairus Byrd, whether they bring him back on a long-term deal or put the franchise tag on him. GM Doug Whaley said the team will “go after” all of its own free agents, and Gaughan observes that the most significant of those free agents beyond Byrd are Scott Chandler and Dan Carpenter. The team could create even more cap space–about $3.1MM– with the expected release of backup quarterback Kevin Kolb. Right tackle Erik Pears is also in danger of being cut, and his release would save about $2.9MM.
  • Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com expects the Jets to re-sign tackle Austin Howard before free agency opens on March 11. He also notes that, with all their cap space–which will increase following the expected release of Santonio Holmes–the Jets will also attack the free agent market for quarterbacks and wide receivers. Cimini expects the team to pursue quarterbacks Michael Vick and Josh McCown and wideouts Golden Tate, Emmanuel Sanders, and Hakeem Nicks.
  • James Walker of ESPN.com says it is “difficult to believe” that the Dolphins are seeking to trade Dion Jordan, Cameron Wake, and Mike Wallace, particularly since the team is in “win now” mode. We heard several days ago that Miami was shopping those players, rumors that the team quickly denied. Walker thinks the most “tradeable” of that group is Jordan, who had a difficult time finding a good fit on the Dolphins defense last year. However, Walker adds that Miami is not likely to give up on such a special talent after just one season.

 

 

 

Dolphins Deny Shopping Wallace, Wake

February 28th, 2014 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

4:06pm: Speaking to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, a Dolphins source strongly denied that the team is open to trading Wallace and Wake. As was the case with the team’s dismissal of the Jordan trade talk earlier, I don’t think this necessarily rules out the possibility of a deal. Still, a trade isn’t likely, and if there were any discussions, Miami’s new regime may have just been doing due diligence to gauge the value of its current assets

2:23pm: In addition to exploring the trade value of last year’s No. 3 overall pick Dion Jordan, the Dolphins may also be putting out feelers on potential deals involving wide receiver Mike Wallace and defensive end Cameron Wake. Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com hears from numerous league sources that Miami might be open to moving both Wallace and Wake, adding that that perception has only grown within the last week or so.

As I noted when La Canfora first reported the trade rumblings involving Jordan, there are plenty of reasons why the Dolphins might dangle players as trade chips. The team has many holes to fill, including several on the offensive line, and a new decision-making group is in place this offseason, led by recently hired GM Dennis Hickey. Still, Wake is one of the league’s top pass-rushers, and Jordan and Wallace were Miami’s two big offseason additions just a year ago. I’d be somewhat surprised if the Dolphins moved any of them in the coming weeks, though La Canfora hears from sources close to all three players that they wouldn’t be shocked by a trade.

Wallace and Wake are both under contract for several more seasons – Wallace through 2017 and Wake through 2016 – and their deals would make it tricky to find a trade partner. Presumably, in any swap, the Dolphins would be looking to add draft picks and perhaps move up in the first round, as well as creating additional cap flexibility. La Canfora writes that adding an elite tackle will be a priority for the club in either the draft or free agency.

Dolphins Unlikely To Re-Sign Paul Soliai

February 24th, 2014 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

3:10pm: Soliai has received interest from at least five teams, and two of those clubs “are quite serious” about trying to sign the veteran defensive tackle, says Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. For now, the Dolphins are the only club that can offer Soliai a contract, but the team has yet to make a proposal.

12:52pm: Defensive tackle Paul Soliai appears ready to test the open market, having already moved out of his South Florida home, reports Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. According to Beasley, the Dolphins will be “hard-pressed” to keep Soliai, who is set to hit free agency on March 11.

Soliai, 30, has started 58 of the Dolphins’ 64 total games over the last four seasons, earning a Pro Bowl berth in 2011 and ranking as a top-20 defensive tackle in 2013, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required). Coming off a $7.375MM cap number in ’13, Soliai likely won’t come cheap, and Beasley suggests the run-stopping lineman has drawn a significant amount of “unofficial interest” at the combine this week.

The Dolphins will have plenty of cap room this offseason, but also have numerous positions and players to address — the club will have to remake its offensive line and retain standout cornerback Brent Grimes. A report earlier this month from Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com suggested that Miami would probably only be able to re-sign one of its two free agent defensive tackles. In addition to Soliai, Randy Starks is also eligible for unrestricted free agency.

Miami could free up some additional cap space by restructuring Mike Wallace‘s contract to reduce his $17.25MM cap hit for 2014, but there have been no discussions on that front yet, according to Beasley.