What came in along with that news was that now-former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Dannell Ellerbe has also signed with the franchise in south Florida.

Terms aren’t yet known, but what the heck I’ll speculate on that of Wallace. I think it’s either somewhere around 5 years and $60-$65 million or 6 yrs and $75-$85 million with nearly $50 million guaranteed. It should be in that ballpark.

Can’t wait to find out.

Mike Wallace’s addition gives the rising second year Dolphins’ offense a very deadly presence on the outside and quarterback Ryan Tannehill has to be happy.

The team has lost TE Anthony Fasano, and that will affect both the running and passing game even if he was no star. He was kind of good at both and not bad in any phase, so his loss will need to be addressed at that position for the team.

That’s something they can do while picking up the NFL’s fastest wideout. It most certainly opens their playbook wide open now…if and only if they get some solid help at tight end. Last year’s rookie hopeful Michael Egnew has so far done nothing, but the Dolphins have draft picks this year.

Inside Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe’s signing wasn’t nearly as foreseen. He was thought to be the heir-apparent to Ray Lewis’ old role from his retirement, but the Baltimore Ravens let yet another key cog in their championship season hit the road in the offseason and Ed Reed could be next.

Their fans can’t be too happy with the situation right now, but time will tell on that. It looks like they’ll be looking to TE Dennis Pitta for a little more production, but free agency has just begun.

December 9, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace (17) runs with the ball after a pass reception against the San Diego Chargers during the first quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

As for the Dolphins, it’s a wealth of riches at the ILB spot and Karlos Dansby may be on the way out next – who knows? It’s a situation that bears watching, so keep an eye on it. The contract terms for him just came out.

He’s signed for 5 years and $35 million dollars.

WOW.

That’s a lot of money for a player that hasn’t really proven himself yet. The Ravens’ offer “wasn’t even in the ballpark” so it appears. the Dolphins are the ones making the early big splash, pun intended, in the free agency pool.

They’re a team now appearing to be the one that’s next in line to try and challenge the New England Patriots for the NFC East title on the arm of a hotshot gunslinging quarterback and a so far no-name backfield on the NFL level since RB Reggie Bush was allowed to go.

Reminds me of the setup going in to Dan Marino’s second year in many respects.

What shoes to fill…let the games begin!

Percy Harvin was traded to the Seattle Seahwaks hours after the Baltimore Ravens traded WR Anquan Boldin to San Francisco. Both deals look to be good for each team involved because of their specific situation. Harvin wasn’t happy in Minnesota and Boldin wanted more money than the Ravens wanted to pay, so in their case they at least got something in return for letting Boldin go – a 7th round pick. The Niners get a veteran receiver that will help the team, the locker room, and be a leader by example for the younger WRs on that squad.

But what about other big names like Mike Wallace and Greg Jennings?

The biggest contract is going to go to Mike Wallace. Since the Miami Dolphins have been heavily courting him and the Vikings traded Percy Harvin, they’ve become involved in a bit of a bidding war which will drive up the price on the wideout. Miami should still land him, but the money is going to be in the $12 million (or higher) a year range.

In a particularly deep free agent pool this season, Wallace is the man people want but what about others?

Receiver Greg Jennings, a bona-fide #1 WR in his own right, could be the Vikings’ consolation prize and at a bit of a discount from Mike Wallace. Jennings is the more experienced, polished guy while Wallace has the physical tool – speed – which cannot be coached.

I think it’s somewhat odd that the Dolphins are pursuing Steelers’ WR Mike Wallace and not former Packer Greg Jennings. Jennings is much more of a blue-collar hard worker while Wallace is somewhat of a hard case – one that would actually cost more to sign than Jennings. The only reason I can think of as to why Philbin doesn’t want his old #1 wideout is that there may be some sort of injury he has that makes Philbin uncomfortable in signing the guy. Just conjecture on my part, but one has to wonder about the situation.

Jan 5, 2013; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings (85) gets away from Minnesota Vikings cornerback Chris Cook (20) in the second quarter of the NFC Wild Card playoff game at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

If you’ll recall in the UFA period LAST season, Philbin didn’t go after QB Matt Flynn with his $8 million price tag. Yes, they had sights set on Ryan Tannehill at number 8 overall as offensive coordinator Mike Sherman had been his old college HC at TAMU the previous year. Philbin had intimate knowledge of Flynn’s capabilities, didn’t chase after him, and as it turned out, Flynn signed with the Seahawks, they drafted Russell Wilson, and Flynn couldn’t beat him out of the starting position.

Wallace most certainly has the speed advantage over Jennings. He has the speed advantage over everyone in the entire NFL with the possible exception of CJ2K. It’ll mean enemy defenses have to respect that speed with safety help deep, making sure Miami’s two young running backs (without Reggie Bush’s presence) won’t be facing 8-man fronts…and likely why Minnesota jumped in the bidding war after trading Percy Harvin with Adrian Peterson in the backfield. He WILL see 8 or even 9-man fronts without replacing Harvin’s explosiveness, and they need to do so in free agency. Rookies at picks 23 and 25 in the first round won’t do the job.

Meanwhile, Greg Jennings has been the more consistent performer and producer, and probably will be a less up-and-down wideout wherever he lands than will Mike Wallace.

On the other hand, Wallace and Tannehill together could threaten every square inch of real estate on the gridiron on any given play. Wallace has the speed to separate and Tannehill has the howitzer to get the ball to him. The Dolphins do have a much less pricey and diva-like WR in-house as it is when they re-signed 6’3″ Brian Hartline. Hartline has very good speed (4.54-40) for his size and frame, and has physical abilities similar to those of big diva-like WR Brandon Marshall, whom Philbin let go almost as soon as he got off the plane in Miami as their Head Coach.

Dec 23, 2012; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brian Hartline (82) catches a pass against Buffalo Bills defensive back Justin Rogers (26) in the second half at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Miami won 24-10. Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

With one of the NFL’s top-ten slot WRs in Davone Bess, who can go back to exclusively playing from the slot, the addition of Wallace and retention of Hartline suddenly makes this Miami passing attack legitimate, even without much of an increase in talent at TE. However, the Dolphins have the draft choices to move up and down the board at will, like the much more talked about Niners’ draft choice pile-up and the Darrelle Revis trade talks that have been simmering.

So, it appears that the Minnesota Vikings will jack up Wallace’s price tag by $2-$3 million a year and Miami GM Jeff Ireland has to be cursing them. However, it still looks like the Dolphins get Wallace and it’s more iffy with the Vikings, but I think they sign Jennings…probably for more around the $9-$12 million range where Wallace could command $12 million at least and as much as $15 million at the high end.

The plan for paying for part of this has been churning since last season when the Dolphins drafted Stanford tackle Jonathan Martin. Fast forward a year, and pricey but injury-prone LT Jake Long is a free agent and Martin will be asked to cover the left side of the offensive line at about a fifth of the price of Long’s ROOKIE contract salary. That’s where most of the money for Wallace (or maybe Jennings after all) is coming from.

For Panthers’ fans, it means this is not such a great year to look for a UFA WR to add to Cam’s arsenal, despite the talent that’s out there. They don’t have the cap room….yet. In any case, it’s improbable for Panthers’ GM David Gettleman to make a huge high-profile FA signing on the heels of a GM (Marty Hurney) who had zero cap discipline. It’s exactly that sort of thing that got the Panthers into cap trouble in the first place; besides, it’s never been Gettleman’s style while in New York.

With the Mike Wallace/Greg Jennings saga, there’s probably a good reason why the Dolphins are chasing the faster but less accomplished Wallace over Jennings. We just don’t know what that reason is.

I guess time will tell.

The link for the video of the interview and story can be found here on NFL.com.

I saw it earlier this morning, live. Most Panthers fans know the offense has a good but aging #1 wide receiver, 33 year old Steve Smith, and a bushel-basket full of #3 types. Steve Wyche of NFL.com knows this too, and asked him about the fastest receiver in the NFL, the Steelers’ Mike Wallace.

“You’re warm,” Rivera replied, “but you know, what’s going to be interesting is how things unfold once we get to March 12.” He was referencing the official start to the free agent season.

Rivera probably also knows the Miami Dolphins are showing great interest in the young man, and that they have a lot more salary cap room to get him, but didn’t express it. The NFL rumor mill says the Dolphins may already either have a deal or are close to one with the speedster, but the same question could have been posed about Green Bay’s UFA WR, Greg Jennings, and would probably have elicited a similar response.

December 23, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace (17) runs after a pass reception as Cincinnati Bengals outside linebacker Manny Lawson (left) defends during the third quarter at Heinz Field. The Cincinnati Bengals won 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Dwayne Bowe is another, but I think the Kansas City Chiefs may slap the “franchise” tag on him to help their offense-in-flux be stable. The more I think about it, the less I see KC taking West Virginia QB Geno Smith. I think they’ll re-sign LT Brandon Albert and go after a steady QB…Alex Smith in particular. With Albert protecting his blind side and Bowe a dynamic weapon along with some of the other young skill position players they have (like Dexter McCluster and TE Tony Moeaki), it would open up their #1 pick overall for whomever they have rated the highest on their board, other than interior offensive linemen.

The Panthers’ salary cap woes are well-known as are their offensive line woes and lack of explosive talent at the WR position.

Because of their cap situation along with DeAngelo Williams’ trade value being rather low due to injuries early in the 2012 season, the Panthers may be shackled with 3 expensive running backs in the 2013 season after signing massive FB Mike Tolbert last offseason.

There are also a lot of players in this year’s draft crop that are so close in talent level in some areas, the Panthers could get just about the same level of help drafting 14th or 32nd in the first round….so long as they’re hunting for someone to help their front-seven in general and a defensive tackle specifically.

It also means the Panthers are unlikely to find a suitor to trade down unless there’s a guy like safety Kenny Vaccaro around and another team wants to trade up and get him. Therefore, the Panthers may well be looking to draft a WR at 14 overall if either Cordarrelle Patterson or Keenan Allen is available, then wait for the second round to get a defensive tackle to help fill that problem area in a draft replete with good talent on the defensive line.