The Ravens have some difficult salary-related decisions to make, but Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday he expects wide receiver Mike Wallace will be back for 2017.
Wallace is due about $8 million in the final year of a two-year deal he signed last season, and the Ravens would save $5.75 million on their salary cap if they released him. But Harbaugh said at the NFL Scouting Combine that the Ravens are thinking about what he can do, not what they can save.
“I want Mike Wallace on our football team,” Harbaugh said, per ESPN.com. “Circumstances, contracts, salary cap are another conversation that you have about every single guy. But my anticipation is Mike Wallace will be a part of our team, and I know he’s working to be part of our team. And I’m planning on having him back next year.”
Wallace caught 72 passes for a team-high 1,017 yards and four touchdowns last season.
In what’s expected to be a thin wide receiver market, Wallace likely wouldn’t be unemployed for long if the Ravens decided to move on. Given the retirement of Steve Smith Sr. and the way Wallace clicked with Joe Flacco last season, keeping him in Baltimore is probably a wise decision even if it is an expensive one.