2012 NFL Free Agency: Should the Buccaneers Go After Mike Wallace?

Assuming Mike Wallace does not agree to a contract extension before free agency opens on March 13th, he will be a restricted free agent.  In recent years not many of the top restricted free agents have switched teams because their current team could tender them with a first- and third-round pick.  The two picks were a higher price than most teams would be willing to pay.

That has changed with the new CBA.  The maximum tender for a restricted free agent is now a first-round pick.  That means you might see more movement with the top restricted free agents on the market.  Some teams will think it is a better investment to trade the first round pick for a known commodity instead of spending a draft pick on a guy who has never played a down in the NFL.

The one thing that is still going to make it hard to acquire a restricted free agent is that the player's current team has the right to match any offer he receives.  So in order to get a restricted player away from a team, you have to be willing to not only give up a first-round pick, but you also have to be willing to pay that player and amount that his team is not willing to match.

That brings us to Mike Wallace.  There is no doubt that Mike Wallace has established himself as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.  Over the past two year he has 132 catches for 2,450 yards and 18 touchdowns.  That is an average of 18.6 yards per catch.

The Buccaneers are not going to be able to find a player that can come in and make an immediate impact like Wallace would, even with the fifth overall pick in this year's draft.  However, with all of the needs that Tampa Bay has on both sides of the ball, they cannot afford to pay Wallace the amount of money it would take to make an offer that the Pittsburgh Steelers would be willing to match.

So while the prospects of adding Mike Wallace are exciting, it is a deal that the Buccaneers simply cannot afford to make.