But he wasn't much of a pro prospect despite raw athleticism. Nobody drafted him in 2005. The New York Giants signed Wake as a rookie free agent to play 4-3 stack linebacker. After one set of organized team activities in shorts, the Giants cut him.
Bill Sheridan, the Giants' linebackers coach at the time, can laugh (a little) about their gross misjudgment. Sheridan is Wake's position coach with the Dolphins now.
"I bet we never got to see him do one pass rush in that entire OTA," Sheridan said of Wake's brief look with the Giants. "We were trying to teach him how to play linebacker and pass drop. He never had a chance to demonstrate any of this.
"Obviously in hindsight that was very foolish on our part because we let him go."
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