Mike Wallace has never looked truly at home with the Miami Dolphins. The wide receiver was one of the team's biggest signings two years ago, but for every touchdown has had scored there has been a headline of drama paired with it. The Dolphins are slowly on the upswing after showing improvements in 2014, but Wallace has no idea if he will be a part of it.
Wallace signed a five-year, $60 million contract two seasons ago that is a very heavy cap hit in future seasons. Wallace will be a $5.2 million hit next season along with a $6.9 million hit in 2016 if released, saving the Dolphins upwards of $7 million. That is very enticing for a team finishing rebuilding their roster. Wallace has yet to truly impress as the team's No. 1 wide receiver threat. This season he put up 930 catches for five touchdowns, but paired that with statements criticizing the offensive system along with quarterback Ryan Tannehill. This has led Wallace to doubt his future in South Beach.
"I'm not the general manager or anything, or the head coach," Wallace said, via the Sun Sentinel. "I'm not sure. Everything here always gets better no matter the situation. I think it can always get better. Things can always work out in a better way. No matter if things are going positive or negative, it could always get better."
Wallace was benched in the season finale for the Dolphins, clearly on head coach Joe Philbin's bad side. Tension in their relationship could hurt Wallace's future. Philbin noted that he has spoken with the wide receiver and things are fine at the moment. Quarterback Tannehill noted that Wallace has had issues, but when he is with the team he is a playmaker regardless and he would like to continue for years to come.
"It's the way it is," Tannehill said. "We'll work through it, or we'll see what happens and that's just the way it is. That's the facts of life right now. Yeah, if Mike's here then he's a heckuva player. You saw the things he did this year, some big-time plays he made, and I think he can only get better."
The issue for Wallace is the rise of players like Jarvis Landry who had a strong rookie season for Miami. Brandon Gibson and Brian Hartline are also still under contract for the Dolphins. There would be a strong market for Wallace should Miami decide to make a move knowing that it would save them money in the long run.
