The Baltimore Ravens had been linked to Mike Wallace since last week and finally were able to close the deal on Tuesday. Baltimore's deep ball driven passing offense is one of its most explosive features and will also be the best fit for Wallace in the last three years.
Wallace was on the Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins but couldn't quite mesh with the offensive game plans. He has been declining slowly, but is still a sideline deep threat that could find some youthful productivity thanks to Flacco's arm strength.
The Ravens of course struggled to put together a productive receiving corps as 2015 saw their star receiver Steve Smith go down with a season-ending Achilles injury. This was also the season that Ravens first round pick, wide receiver Breshad Perriman, was too injured to play a snap of football.
Wallace should provide some insurance for Perriman if he does not pan out the way the Ravens are hoping. Baltimore largely relied on now restricted free agent Kamar Aiken to make most of the plays through the air towards the end of the 2015 NFL season.
Aiken had his best season as a pro last year, as he was the only viable wide receiver to utilize in the passing attack. He caught 75 of 127 passes for 944 yards and five touchdowns. The Ravens have placed a second-round tender on Aiken which is about worth $2.55 million, enough to keep teams away so far.
The Ravens also saw some solid production from Michael Campanaro for a while until he suffered a season-ending injury that really depleted the Ravens depth at wide receiver. Baltimore would trade for Chris Givens, a wide receiver formerly of the Los Angeles Rams.
Givens would do nothing in 2015 and now hits free agency without a lot of buzz. The Ravens could focus on the wide receiver position again as Steve Smith will likely retire after the 2016 NFL season. This means they will need to find a player or players who can be as productive as Smith - not an easy task.
The signing of Wallace only gives them more depth at the wide receiver position and will give them an emergency No. 1 receiver in case of injury. The Ravens will have the sixth overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft so they are in a great position to find some productive offensive playmakers.
