Wake says injury won’t keep him down
Miami Dolphins defensive end entering final year of his contract
It’s hardly astonishing to those B.C. Lions who watched him take over CFL games — and saw him snatch a 20 dollar bill stuck to a ceiling 11-feet-8 high in their locker-room — that Cameron Wake is a special talent.
The surprise is that the National Football League didn’t see it at first, or believe a collegian who leaped so prodigiously — 45.5 inches from a standing start — could unleash such explosive power to devastating effect on a football field. Wake’s vertical jump, recorded at the 2005 NFL combine, remains the second-best in testing history, even more impressive given the mass that went airborne. The 6-3 defender from Penn State, who went undrafted, weighed close to 240 pounds at the time.
“Once I get my legs back, I’d maybe have to orchestrate that (snatching money from a lockerroom ceiling) to demonstrate I’m back,” the two-time CFL defensive player of the year quipped this week in Vancouver. “But ‘can you’ and ‘will you’ are two different things.”
When Wake tore his Achilles on Oct. 30 against New England, the Miami Dolphins star defensive end — he was called the “best rush end on the planet” Thursday by TSN’s Glen Suitor, his interviewer and host of the annual Orange Helmet Awards dinner — did so with one year left on his five-year, $33 million contract.
Having turned 34 on Jan. 30, and coming off a catastrophic injury
Miami’s my home. Leaving hasn’t been in my thoughts. We hope to come to an agreement.
CAMERON WAKE
preceded by a bothersome hamstring, there is conjecture that Wake may no longer be physically capable of being a full-time player.
Restructuring his contract to gain more cap space or releasing him entirely (the Dolphins signed defensive end Mario Williams, the No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft, in March) are other options. If Wake hit the open market, the Seattle Seahawks reportedly are one of several teams interested.
“We’re talking about an extension right now,” Wake said. “I would hope there would be a lot of teams interested (if it doesn’t work out). But I have no reason to go. I love the franchise. Miami’s my home. Leaving hasn’t been in my thoughts. We hope to come to an agreement.”
Though Wake is a sparkling stud in the NFL — 70 sacks in 100 games, with four Pro Bowl selections — the team he plays for has been prone to continually falling short. The Dolphins have never qualified for the playoffs in his seven years there. In his two seasons with the Lions (2007-2008), Wake was part of a single semifinal playoff win, in his second year. B.C. lost the West Division final both times.
“That 2007 Lions team (14-3-1 in the regular season) was stacked,” he said.
“How many all-stars did we have? (A team record nine All-CFL players). I’ve had a lot of personal success, individual accolades, all-star teams, things like that. But I’ve never won a championship or done anything like that. It’s something I definitely desire to do. It’s kind of eluded me. I need to figure out a way to get hold of a trophy of some sort.”
Under the gaze of a new head coach, Adam Gase, the start of the Dolphins’ off-season training program begins Monday, cutting short Wake’s trip to Vancouver. He had hoped to stay several days longer.
“This is my 13th professional season,” Wake said, counting his years at Penn State. “Is it necessary to kill yourself all training camp? You’ve got to think of the long term. Maybe I’ll be dialing back some things I might not necessarily need, in order to keep my legs healthy.”
At the end of those spring-loaded legs, he still wears a pair of team-logoed flip flops from his days with the Lions as a reminder of NFL myopia, the CFL team that gave him his break and a signpost for how far he has come.
“I wear ’em every day,” Wake said. “I really cherish the memories of my time here. The bonds and friendships forged sincerely can’t be replicated anywhere else.”