NFL free agency doesn't kick off until Tuesday at 4 p.m. which is both the most arbitrary time to schedule the start of free agency and a tad annoying to people that have to report these things (WILL NO ONE THINK OF THE MEDIA???).
But that's not stopping rumors and reports from swirling endlessly.
And one of the biggest ones out there is that top-flight free agent wide receiver Mike Wallace will be signing with your Miami Dolphins come Tuesday.
ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Palm Beach Post's Ben Volin, and other news outlets and media sources are reporting that Wallace to the Fins is all but done.
As it is with any seemingly good news with the Dolphins, the fan base is ready to have a super terrific pants party over this bit of news.
Yes, Wallace is the top free agent receiver on the market, and yes, he fills Miami's biggest need.
But there are some mixed nuts inside the goody bag (aside from the fact that these are still just rumors and sources and nothing is concrete).
Particularly, that Wallace is basically just a fast dude who drops passes, isn't the sharpest route runner, and tends to get a case of the NO FUCKS GIVEN from time to time.
Just ask your nearest Steeler fan -- throw a rock anywhere and you'll hit one (be sure to throw it hard).
Wallace doesn't necessarily command the possibly 12-plus million spacebucks he's demanding (and Miami will surely give him). But the potential for a big payoff is there.
Draft expert Chris Kouffman tells New Times that he likes Wallace's speed but cautions that the price tag is a bit much.
"You're dumping 12 million worth of expectations on a guy who has not necessarily been leaned on as a true number-one option to this point," he says. "His production tends to drop off a lot when you feed him the ball ten-plus times in a game."
Kouffman is also concerned about how Wallace might fit into Miami's overall scheme.
"You have a coach in Joe Philbin who has spent years talking about how he doesn't like the concept of having a number-one wide receiver and a quarterback who was at his best in college leaning on a savvy-option route player. Sometimes when you take coaches and players out of their comfort zones, the results aren't ideal."
Erik Frenz of Bleacher Report, meanwhile, agrees that Wallace's best gift is his speed. But how long does that last in the NFL?
"At 26 years old," Frenz tells New Times, "at least three to four years left of it."
Still, Frenz says Wallace being tagged as a ball-dropper is overblown.
"He's dropped a lower rate of passes over the past two years than from '09-10, when he was supposedly a better receiver."
Overall, however, Frenz believes the Fins must get Wallace to fix what has been a giant grab bag of ass at receiver.
"Utilized correctly," he says, "Wallace would be worth the money."
So will the Fins land Wallace? They've certainly made no efforts to hide how much they covet the guy. But sublety has never been Jeff Ireland's forte.
Come Tuesday, we'll learn if the reports are true.
Until then, we'll keep blowing helium into the balloons and ordering more folding chairs for the pants party.
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