The Mike Wallace sweepstakes is set to get underway along with NFL free agency on Monday, and one of his biggest suitors is expected to be the Minnesota Vikings. But that could mean a serious makeover for the Vikings offense.
Percy Harvin has been the Vikings’ leading receiver for each of the past three seasons, but adding Wallace could mean the end of the road for Harvin in Minnesota, says Yahoo! Sports’ Jason Cole.
Harvin’s had a turbulent tenure with the Vikings over the past four seasons, including multiple threats to hold out. All of the tension finally came to a head last season when Harvin had a few heated arguments with head coach Leslie Frasier and reportedly even considered walking out on the team.
The controversy led to some rumors that the troubled wideout would be traded this offseason, even sparking speculation for the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers to make a run at him.
Wallace is arguably the prize of this free-agent class and is likely to exceed even the five-year, $56 million that Dwayne Bowe just signed with the Chiefs, but the Vikings have enough cap room to afford the speedy receiver. His addition would make the unhappy Harvin expendable.
The Vikings might find it difficult to get a fair return for Harvin, though, as he is looking for a richer contract than Bowe and closer to the eight-year, $132 million deal Calvin Johnson signed last year. If that is the case, the Vikings would be better off without him anyway.
There is no denying Harvin’s incomparable talents, but paying $16 million on average for a player who has never reached the 1,000-yard plateau or caught more than six touchdowns in a given year seems absurd.
So, Percy might want to fire up some Boyz II Men on iTunes because it could be the “End of the Road.”
