Rousing start to the offseason...
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolp...eron-wake-not-on-same-page-over-contract.html
Page 1 of 2
-
Wakes not a dominating end anymore lets face it Injury or not hes got amybe 2 years left of decent play. Yes hes been a soilder and great player on the team but we need to learn when to cut em lose like Pittsburg does, or New England does.. signing him to a fat contract isnt going to do anything to help us. I say we give him a fair Deal that works for us and if not we let him go and use that money to sign another player or two to fill some holes..
-
I do agree with you in that Miami has to be smart and not overpay. The deal should be fair, though; and not just for Miami. He has given Miami 100% all of the time. He is a great ambassador of the team. I'd hate to see him walk away.Puka-head likes this. -
finfansince72 Season Ticket Holder Club Member
Man, I'd love to keep Wake, I'd hate to see him playing somewhere else. That said, he's over 30, coming off a major injury, he needs to work with us a little bit on the contract. Hopefully we can work something out, he's been one of my all time favorite Dolphin players. Certainly one of the top passrushers in the league over the last 5 years.
-
I love wake but he tore his achillies.that would make you think twice about paYing a 27yr old...and he's what, 34?
LiferYank likes this. -
dolphin25 likes this.
-
Samphin Κακό σκυλί ψόφο δεν έχει
Wake's biggest asset on the field, has been his explosiveness.
He tore his Achilles.
That asset is gone, or severely diminished at best. Miami had to make a business decision here and let him go, in my opinion. You cannot pay an agin pass rusher nine million dollars after he just lost the best thing about himself, performance wise. It is a recipe for disaster and what losing franchises with poor vision do.
So expect a contract extension with more guaranteed money sometime soon...xphinfanx, MAFishFan, Puka-head and 1 other person like this. -
-
- From ALL accounts, he takes care of his body (even more so than those who "take care of their bodies")
- He just turned 34.....like a month ago. It does sound old, but I suspect he's not your normal 34 year old.
- Tears are graded differently. He could conceivably recover back to "near normal", pre-surgery condition. He likely won't, but he could get pretty close. Pretty close is still better than most edge rushers (reports are he is close to 100%).
- He tore his left Achilles, which may not be hinder his start as much given the side from which he rushes.
All of these are conjecture and some based in supposition. Who really knows? But I'm pulling for the guy and I have to believe in his belief in himself. I don't think he fights for this contract money if he does not have that belief in himself, and that says a lot to me. Yes, his age is his age, but again, I dare anyone to find a newly 34 year old in better shape. I'm pulling for him, but it's not simply sentiment. The guy has busted his tail, and I think he will come back from this just fine.dolfndav34 and djphinfan like this. -
xphinfanx, cuchulainn and dolphin25 like this.
-
You could have written the same thing about Jason Taylor as he neared the end of his career - and he never had an Achilles injury. He was still a shell of himself by the time he was 35. His last few seasons were plagued with injuries and he started 7 total games his final 2 seasons. You can't fight aging and the punishment your body takes as an NFL player. Wakes a situational player at best now.
Rushing from the left side, he pushes off and depends more on his left leg for drive and explosion. He could very well pop it again. -
Wake being near 100% healed is not the same as Wake being 100% of what he was, and his belief in himself is great, it's what made him a great player, but he isn't even able to put any real pressure on it yet so he also has no idea where he'll be once back on the field.
Bottom line, his career is basically over, even if he came back and was decent this year, what about the following year, when he's 35 going on 36?
If his game was based more on strength than speed, I'd be right there with you, but he is a smallish speed rusher, once his speed is compromised he's basically done, and there is more of a likelihood that his speed is already compromised, so the smart business decision is not to pay him much.
I'm a huge Wake fan, when we plucked him from Canada I did all the research on him and was convinced he would be like a extra 1st or 2nd round pick that year, and got laughed at, no one was laughing anymore when he got 2 sacks in his first game, lol, but there comes a time in every players career when you have make a decision. -
Unfortunately the Dolphins have little cap room unless they start cutting players or reducing the salaries of the older players who really haven't helped this team become a winner over the last 7 years.
Keeping Wake, Grimes,Cameron Jordan, and Misi and their contracts is going to make it nearly impossible for them to keep, Vernon, Miller, and Matthews. These are younger players who will make more of a positive impact on the football field over the coming years then any of those four players.
What is totally mind blowing is that the Dolphins have spent so much money over the past few years and really have very little to show for it. Normally teams over the cap are in that situation because they are a playoff team making a run to get to the SB before having to trim their roster to get back under the cap.
The Dolphins are in this situation and yet they haven't been in the playoffs since 2008 and they had their worst team since 2007 this past season.
Personally I would love to see them build the right way for a change. They need to get rid of the high priced dead weight and accept this is a 3 to 4 year complete rebuild. Ross expecting this team to be anything but a 5-6 win team for at least the next two seasons is just unrealistic.
I think they will be drafting in the top ten picks until at least 2019.Puka-head, shamegame13 and Pandarilla like this. -
What are we running a thrift store here! These are ridiculously paid athletes, and yes they have a shelf life. If there's any business where it pays to be cold blooded it's the NFL.
Cut all the dead weight, it's pretty simple. Gut this team of all high priced anything. Grimes, Cameron, Misi, etc...and I am sick of hearing how great our 10 million dollar center is. I'd trade him for a pick right now, also.
They're really ****ting the bed by not stockpiling picks ala franchising Vernon, trading Wake (two years ago) and they'll probably trade up in this year's draft the way these knuckleheads are thinking.
This team needs a facelift, tired of the yearly botox treatments. This draft is 3 rds deep with quaility players. If ever there was a time to go all Jimmy Johnson on everyone's *** it's the next two years for this sorry excuse for flatulence...there I said it. -
I mean, I'm totally bias, but it would be an extremely dumb move and a huge disservice to not do any and everything in your power to keep this teams biggest lockerroom leader and most consistent producer/star here for what'll probably be his final contract. The amount of people dismissing Wake on this board who are also okay with backing up a truck full of money to someone like Vernon is a nothing short of a head scratcher.
Wake isn't your average athlete. We've seen it first hand. The way he takes care of himself and fully commits himself to his craft is a thing of beauty and pretty rare nowadays. There are already reports that he's been way ahead of schedule on recovery, and as it is, he likes it here. He wants to be here. He's fine with taking his cut and taking his restructuring but its going to have to have to be reasonable on both sides. If any nfl player could recover fully from an injury like this and still be near 100%, Wake would be one of the safest bets In the nfl. He's been the face of the franchise for near a decade and I would bet the farm that the guy has several years left of consistent play. Even as a situational rusher, you dont let someone who averages 10+ sacks 4+ FFs and an ungodly amount of pressures/hurries just walk. I really hope something gets done. Lower the cap hit this year but dont lowball the guys bottom line...Pandarilla likes this. -
Pandarilla likes this.
-
My belief is he is being forced to act as you stated. He's not going to do it willingly -
-
No one can say for sure where Wake will be. Structure the contract based on being on the field and producing. Guarantee his money while reducing his contract/cap hit in the form of a bonus they can spread over several years. The guy isnt going to play for free. I believe Wakes going to hit the free agency market in a week and he will be gone - gone -gone.
And that is a shame:pity: -
2socks likes this.
-
Ugh... come on man. :(
-
[video=twitter;708013127405805568]https://twitter.com/Kold91/status/708013127405805568[/video]
Ronnie Bass likes this. -
-
-
-
Here is what is going to happen.
If Wake tears it up this year and proves the Achilles is a non factor - next year he gets paid the highest salary in the history of the NFL for his position - and it wont be Miami paying itPuka-head likes this. -
Personally I do estimate that his career is over, I think it's just going through it's course right now, heal up, get ok'ed for practice, find out during practices that he just doesn't have it anymore, he's a 34 year old coming off an achilles tear, and he's a smallish player who relied on explosiveness, if he loses half a step he won't be able to get to the QB anymore, and that would be the end of his career. -
He's 34 right now.
I don't see any 40 year defensive ends out there.
Father time is undefeated.
I am okay with extending him, but I would be very, very careful. You do not want to be in a situation where I have a lot of guaranteed money and a lot of years left on a player that suddenly is no where near what he once was.
Page 1 of 2