Mike Wallace is the highest paid member of the Miami Dolphins. He's expected to be one of their best players and a team leader, an expectation that was upended when Wallace benched himself during the team's Week 17 loss.
Now the Dolphins aren't committed to continue paying him. Asked Wednesday about Wallace returning to the team, Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey dodged the question.
"We're looking at all things with our players," Hickey said via The Miami Herald.
Will Wallace's behavior in Week 17 be a factor in the team's decision?
"We look at all those things with our players," Hickey said. "Again, it was a disappointing finish, there's no sugarcoating that."
You don't have to be an expert at reading between the lines to know that Wallace's days in Miami are likely numbered. He's not getting support from ownership or the general manager.
If the Dolphins planned on bringing Wallace back, it's easy to say that one of the team's core players is part of the team's plans. On Wednesday, Hickey glowed about Ryan Tannehill's future with the team. Miami doesn't need to tiptoe around Tannehill's status with the team because he's going to be a Miami Dolphin.
The Dolphins will have to pay $3 million guaranteed money just to make Wallace go away, but letting go of him would create significant cap space -- $6.9 million if he's deemed a post-June 1 cut. With coach Joe Philbin staying put, Wallace seems less likely to get a fresh start with the team.
At this point, we'd be surprised if Wallace doesn't land on our free agents list in the coming months.
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