Vikings WR Greg Childs Suffers Major Injury, Could They Look Into a Trade with Steelers?

A few people on BTSC have brought up the possibility of trading Steelers WR Mike Wallace, who is currently an unsigned but restricted free agent.

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert has said Wallace is not available for a trade, but every player has his price.

For the sake of due diligence, Colbert may be wise to field a call from the Minnesota Vikings, who discovered Sunday morning rookie WR Greg Childs, a fourth round pick out of Arkansas who was expected to start at split end during Jerome Simpson's suspension, suffered major injuries to both of his knees, and will likely keep Childs out for the season.

Wallace's value in terms of a trade isn't very high for the Steelers right now, considering they are essentially at the salary cap, and Wallace's $2.7 million tender wouldn't fetch much in terms of a player for this season. The Vikings, though, aren't likely to win more than five games in 2012, could be willing to deal a high (read: second round) pick in the 2013 Draft.

It's a situation in which logic - when not applying overall team philosophy - makes a deal seem advantageous for both sides.

While Simpson has shown flashes of potential, the Vikings still do not have a field-stretching receiver. With the signing of TE John Carlson, and the development of second-year TE Kyle Rudolph, the Vikings appear to be looking at a shorter, controlled passing offense for second-year QB Christian Ponder.

While the Vikings' issues in 2012 will probably be more on the defensive side of the ball, they have cap space, and could certainly use Wallace's presence to take the top off defenses in an offensive-heavy NFC North.

The real hold-up for this would be in what kind of contract Wallace would be looking for. The Vikings have already experienced a slightly disgruntled wide receiver, Percy Harvin, taking issue with his contract. Trading for Wallace would likely inflame that situation even more, but Harvin seems better suited as a slot receiver, and would likely be greatly benefited by Wallace's big play ability.

It'd be tough for the Vikings to argue Wallace, even at somewhere around $25 million guaranteed, would be a worse option than a defensive player in the second round, considering their opponents in the NFC North all have top-10 caliber offenses, regardless of their defensive situations.

But as true as any of that may appear to be, teams don't pull off big trades like this for a reason. The Vikings could simply be trying to keep their costs down to make a big splash in free agency next year. It isn't likely this would even be considered, but it'd be worth it for both sides to kick the tires.