Mike Wallace: Label me what you want, but don't call me a quitter
Contract player. Me-first guy. Mike Wallace has heard all the labels. But quitter? Never, Wallace says. The new Viking is focused on playing up to his big deal.
By
Pete Prisco
•
5 min read
MANKATO, Minn. – You probably don't like Mike Wallace, even if few of you actually know him. It's the perception, the reputation, and all the stories that seemingly come up when his name is mentioned, true or not.
You've heard all the negative rumblings: He isn't a good guy, and he quit on his teammates last season. Most of you think he's a me-first player who coasts around the practice field with his only care his big-money deal and how he's going to spend all that cash.
It's all out there -- you can look it up -- which is why when I greet him here at the Minnesota Vikings' training camp, I say this to him: "There's the NFL's most persecuted receiver in the league."
Wallace laughs, but it's the kind of laugh that says he doesn't care, but it's hard not to listen.
This is the second straight summer where I've spent time with Wallace, talking to him about his reputation and all the labels that have followed him from Pittsburgh to Miami to here in camp with the Vikings.
That's the type of thing that comes when you sign a $60-million contract as a free agent, which he did with Miami in the spring of 2014, one most thought was a fleecing to the biggest degree. It didn't help that Wallace failed to live up to it.
Add in the alleged "quitting" incident in the season finale last season that led to his sitting in the second half of the Dolphins' loss to the New York Jets, and it's no wonder Mike Wallace is a name that sirs up visions of a troubled player. It's easy to see why the Dolphins traded him to the Vikings for a fifth-round pick, which, I think, can end up being a huge steal for the Vikings.
"A lot of people persecute me like you said," Wallace said during a break in camp. "Sometimes it's fair, and sometimes it isn't. They see something and they believe it. Ask my teammates from Miami and Pittsburgh. You won't find one guy who doesn't like me. The stuff people say on social media and other stuff means nothing. You take it and let it roll off your shoulder.
"I make a lot of money. If you don't live up 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."
After signing the big deal with Miami, Wallace caught 68 passes for 879 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2014 after catching 73 with five touchdowns the year before. He averaged 12.7 and 12.9 yards per catch in his two seasons, which isn't exactly the big-play ability that Miami expected. But the tape shows a lot of his potential long passes went awry with some bad throws. It's no secret Ryan Tannehill struggled with the deep ball.
Wallace didn't help his reputation any when he watched the final half of the 2014 season from the sidelines. He said he was angry in the first half that he wasn't producing and his team was losing to the Jets. That led to a confrontation with coach Joe Philbin that, in turn, led to his benching. Some reports had Wallace simply quitting, but Wallace insists that isn't true.
Quitter is not a label anyone wants, let alone someone whose resume is full of labels already.
"I did not quit," Wallace insisted. "It didn't happen like that. I don't remember what I said, but it wasn't anything like I am not playing. It definitely wasn't that. I would never quit on my teammates. Anybody who said I did wasn't there. The only ones who were there were coach Philbin and my assistant receivers coach. That's it. Anybody else is making it up. They have no idea.
"When they told me I wasn't playing in the second half, I wanted to knock over the Gatorade. I wanted to do this and do that, f--- this and f--- that. But I didn't do it. I know I was frustrated and said some things I shouldn't have said. But I never said I didn't want to play in the game."
It's a he-said, he-said story now, and the truth may never come out. But the Vikings did their due diligence in researching Wallace before making the deal.
"We had two coaches, one with him in Miami and one with him in Pittsburgh that we talked to who knew the kid," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. "They had great things to say about him."
So far he's making a good impression on Zimmer.
"He works hard and he likes to compete," Zimmer said. "He likes to be challenged. He's taking on a leadership role with our receivers. He's never been late to one meeting. I haven't had to deal with him in any adverse manner whatsoever."
Zimmer was all for acquiring Wallace because when Zimmer was in Cincinnati as defensive coordinator and Wallace was with the Steelers, and the coach saw how the deep speed could be lethal.
"We had him on third-and-one, pressed up on the corner, and he beat us deep," Zimmer said.
Wallace smiled wide when that play was brought up.
"That's why he brought me here," Wallace said.
Now in his seventh season, Wallace said the speed might not be what it used to be, but he can still run by corners with ease. The Vikings, with young quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, need that deep speed. The two spent time this summer in Miami working out and bonded. You could see it on the practice field as well.
Wallace made some big plays in the practices I watched, showing off that speed. He did drop a pass in Tuesday's work, which negated a big play. After practice, he ran extra sprints and then caught some passes from the JUGGS machine.
When he walked over after that, I joked that he needed to do the extra work after that drop.
Mike Wallace smiled. He does that a lot. He laughs a bunch too. He also practices hard and competes.
Who is this guy? Not the player most of you think.
