Charles Johnson is no longer "far and away" the Minnesota Vikings' best wide receiver.
The Miami Dolphins traded Mike Wallace and a seventh-round draft pick to the Vikings in exchange for a fifth-round pick, the team announced.
In other words, Wallace carried little value with a $9.85 million salary and concerns over his self-benching in the season finale. This is essentially a salary dump with the benefit of moving up two rounds on the final day of the 2015 NFL Draft.
It's no surprise that Wallace ended up in Minnesota. After he signed a five-year, $60 million deal with the Dolphins two years ago Wallace's father disclosed that the Vikingsoffered more money.
"The (Vikings) had come to the point where they were telling him, 'You don't have to live here, just be here during the season,' " Wallace's father explained at the time. "He wanted to get out of that snow and cold weather."
The Minneapolis forecast is calling for unseasonable temperatures flirting with 70 degrees this weekend. Perhaps Vikings officials have convinced Wallace that's par for the course.
The trade for Wallace bodes poorly for veteran Greg Jennings, a likely cap casualty.
Teddy Bridgewater has to be excited, though. After finishing his rookie season with a flourish, the QB has an upgraded wide receiving corps with Wallace as a deep threat, Johnson as a big, physical target, Jarius Wright as a gadget player and Cordarrelle Patterson as a route-challenged wild card with strong run-after-catch ability.
From Miami's point of view, they redoubled efforts to deal Wallace after acquiring his replacement in Kenny Stills just hours after signing Jordan Cameron.
The Dolphins have done well to overhaul their pass-catching corps by ridding themselves of a malcontent (Wallace) and a pair of ineffective veterans (Brian Hartline, Brandon Gibson) while staying in the mix to retain Charles Clay.
Ryan Tannehill will now be throwing to a Pro Bowl-caliber tight end, a more efficient deep threat and a promising young slot receiver in Jarvis Landry.
If Clay stays in Miami, Bill Lazor's offense should outperform its per-game averages of 350 yards and 24.2 points from last season.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast breaks down DeMarco Murray's move to the Eagles and breaks down which teams have been wise in free agency. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
