New Raven Mike Wallace fails his conditioning test, can't practice

Wallace, known for being able to run really fast, apparently needs to work on his fitness

A few years ago, not only was Mike Wallace the Steelers' best receiver, he was one of the best young wideouts in the game. That all changed in 2012, when he held out for a new deal, then turned down a five-year, 50-something-million-dollar offer from the team. The Steelers instead extended a relatively unknown Antonio Brown, Wallace went on to have a pedestrian year, and has since played uninspiring football for Miami and Minnesota in the three seasons since.

He signed a two-year, $11.5 million deal with the Ravens in March, a move that brought Wallace back to the AFC North and, more importantly, paired him with quarterback Joe Flacco, one of the league's best deep passers.

But before Wallace can be fully integrated into the Ravens' downfield passing attack, he'll first need to pass the conditioning test.

WR Mike Wallace did not pass his conditioning test. He is expected to pass in the next few days.

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) July 27, 2016

There was no mention of Wallace dealing with an injury. Either way, coach Jim Harbaugh said that the wide receiver, who hit five of six benchmarks but failed to make the final one, won't be able to practice with the team until he passes. Wallace will get another chance on Thursday.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the Ravens have one of the league's most difficult conditioning tests, and Haloti Ngata, Jacoby Jones and Lardarius Webb among others have previously failed the test.

Not surprisingly, the news didn't go over well on Twitter.

@Ravens Must have been a hands competition

— DFS King James (@KingJamesofDfs) July 27, 2016

@Ravens i know this is no big deal, but you would think for a $5M a season contract the guy could have reported in shape to pass that test.

— Mel Vogelsang (@MelVogelsang) July 27, 2016

@Ravens@BMoreWired running was supposed to be the one thing he was good at. Lazy in work outs, lazy in route running.

— cuda (@cudaball) July 28, 2016

To Wallace's credit, he understands that he's been underwhelming.

"I make a lot of money," Wallace told CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco in July 2015. "If you don't live up to the expectations of that contract, people will have stuff to say. I was paid as an elite receiver and I didn't play elite. If I was a fan, and I saw a guy making that much money, I would expect him to be playing at a certain level. But it's a team game. Sometimes, it's not in your hands. People don't understand that from afar."

In theory, Wallace would be a nice complement to a passing attack that includes veteran Steve Smith, Kamar Aiken, 2015 first-round pick Breshad Perriman (who missed his rookie season with a knee injury and begins training camp on the PUP list), and tight ends Maxx Williams, Crockett Gillmore and Ben Watson. Partly because of his breakaway speed, but mostly because he wouldn't have the burden of being a No. 1 receiver.

First things first, however; Wallace has to get on the practice field.