Mike Wallace Slams Teddy Bridgewater, Comments on Joining Ravens

Wide receiver Mike Wallace isn't wasting any time going after his old team, the Minnesota Vikings, after he signed with the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday.   

Wallace spent one season with the Vikings and caught a career-worst 473 receiving yards on 39 catches from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. 

Speaking with the media on Tuesday, Wallace didn't hold anything back about Bridgewater and the Vikings, per Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.

"When this process started, I knew I wasn’t going back to Minnesota,” Wallace said. “I was like, ‘I need a good quarterback. I need a quarterback who I know is proven, who can get things done,’ and [Joe] Flacco, he’s always been that guy."

Bridgewater, who completed his second season in the NFL in 2015, recorded 3,231 yards with 14 touchdowns and just nine interceptions in 16 games. Flacco, who had his season shortened by injury, threw 14 touchdowns in 10 games but also threw 12 interceptions.

Under Bridgewater, though, the Vikings went 11-5 and made the playoffs, while the Ravens went 3-7 when Flacco was under center. 

That didn't matter to Wallace, who told the media that he "used to hate purple. Now I love purple.”

Those comments didn't fly well with ESPN's Trey Wingo:

Wallace is looking to resurrect his career with Baltimore, as the Ravens will be his third team in three seasons. In each of his past four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins and Vikings, Wallace recorded under 1,000 yards receiving after a two-year stretch in 2010 and 2011 where he posted over 2,400 yards.

He's champing at the bit to prove some people wrong: "I’ll show everybody,” Wallace said. “I’ve been taking a lot of heat for about three years in a row. So, we’ll see about that. I promise, I’ll get the last laugh. Hopefully, we can get where we want to go, and that’s to the championship."

Former Vikings quarterback and current CBS Sports analyst Rich Gannon weighed in on Wallace's comments (via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press): "Laughable...He’s a disgruntled player that’s bounced around. ... I think it’s pretty small (of him). The first thing Mike Wallace needs to do is take a look at himself in the mirror. ... Basically, he’s been a one-hit wonder."

He then stepped in to defend Bridgewater:

Unfortunately, for both parties and for football fans, the Ravens and Vikings won't be playing each other in 2016. But the best way for Wallace to prove people wrong and to show up his former team is to put together a big season for Baltimore instead of bashing the Vikings in the media. 

Stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.