Mike Wallace aware of his tough situation with the Vikings

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Mike Wallace is struggling to make his mark this season, and he knows that with his high salary, that could mean danger.

This offeseason, the Minnesota Vikings worked out a trade with the Miami Dolphins to bring in established pass catcher and speedster Mike Wallace.  The goal in bringing him in was to have a deep threat to help open things up underneath for Adrian Peterson as well as the short passing game.

Sadly, the threat of Wallace catching deep balls has been just that:  a threat.

Wallace is on track for the worst season of his NFL career this season.  As of this writing, he has only caught 27 passes in 2015 for 296 yards and one touchdown.  He’s also only averaging 11 yards per catch, a huge difference from when he was around 20 yards per catch in his first two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Oct 25, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) and wide receiver Mike Wallace (11) walk to the huddle during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Vikings win 28-19. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

The hardest part about this struggle is the salary that Mike Wallace makes.  He’s currently in the third year of a five-year contract and counting as $9.9 million against the salary cap for the Minnesota Vikings.  Looking ahead, his next two seasons will be even more expensive, as he’s due for cap hits of $11.5 million each year.

In a recent article on the Pioneer Press website, Mike Wallace spoke about what the lack of production could mean for his future with the Minnesota Vikings.

"“I’m not stupid. I’m a pretty smart guy. I understand everything,” Wallace said. “When you go to look at that, that’s a lot of money to leave out there that you want to get, but you have to make plays to get those numbers up. We’ll see.”"

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If anyone can make up for slow production early this season, it could be Wallace.  All it would take to beef up those stats is for a couple deep shots to connect and for him to find the end zone.  There have already been a couple plays where quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was off the mark or the pass was dropped by Wallace that had the possibility of being a big play.

Mike Wallace knows that if he wants to stick around Minnesota, he needs to cash in on those opportunities.

"“You get frustrated because you’re not making your plays and you want to be around these guys and be on the team,” Wallace said, “but at the same time, you understand it’s a business, as well.”"

You can see Mike Wallace and the rest of the Minnesota Vikings in action on Sunday, November 15, 2015 when they take on the Oakland Raiders in California.