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Cameron Wake

Cameron Wake, Dolphins Discussing Extension

February 19th, 2016 at 10:17am CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 10:17am: According to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (via Twitter), Wake and the Dolphins are hoping for resolution on his contract situation next week, which would give the team time to turn its attention to Vernon before the franchise-tag deadline.

THURSDAY, 8:23am: The Dolphins have engaged in contract talks with veteran defensive end Cameron Wake about a possible extension, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). According to Rapoport, Miami is exploring the possibility of getting something done with Wake before the new league year begins, which could give the team increased flexibility to retain defensive end Olivier Vernon.Cameron Wake

Wake, who turned 34 last month, was his usual productive self during the first half of the 2015 season, racking up seven sacks in seven games for the Dolphins, and forcing four fumbles. However, a torn Achilles, sustained in late October, sidelined him for the rest of the year, and has him on the mend as the ’16 league year approaches.

Wake is currently due a base salary of $8.275MM, plus a workout bonus of $125K, in 2016, the final year of his contract. If the Dolphins were to cut him, they could clear that $8.4MM from their books, leaving just $1.4MM in dead money on the cap. Since Miami seems to want to keep Wake on its roster, and a new deal would give him some guaranteed money up front, there’s motivation for both sides to work something out.

If the Dolphins do agree to an extension with Wake, it likely wouldn’t add more than a couple new years to his deal, given his age. It would also almost certainly reduce his $9.8MM cap number for 2016, which would free up some space for the club as it tackles other offseason business. Frankly though, if the Dolphins hope to use their franchise tag on Vernon or spend big on another player, releasing Wake and restructuring Ndamukong Suh‘s contract would make the most sense — those two moves would create upwards of $25MM in cap savings for the club.

If the Dolphins do extend Wake, it may signal the end of Derrick Shelby‘s time in Miami. Re-signing both Vernon and Shelby would be most plausible for the Dolphins if they move on from Wake, but as long as the veteran still in the mix, it might make sense for the club to focus on re-signing one of its two free agent defensive ends. Miami will have until March 1st to use its franchise tag, and until March 9th to work out extensions to avoid having its free agents reach the open market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dolphins Notes: Front Office, Vernon, Wake

February 12th, 2016 at 7:51pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Dolphins and assistant general manager Eric Stokes have mutually decided to part ways, the club announced today. Stoke, whose scouting career dates back to 2000, came to Miami from Tampa Bay, joining Dennis Hickey in making the leap from the Buccaneers to the Dolphins in 2014. Hickey, of course, was let go by Miami last month, and the team in turn promoted Chris Grier to take over as general manager.

Here’s more from South Beach:

  • The team also announced that it has hired former Wisconsin secondary coach Daronte Jones as its new assistant defensive backs coach. Prior to his coaching experience in Madison, Jones spent time with Hawaii, UCLA, and the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes. He’ll be part of a revamped Miami coaching staff that includes new defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and defensive backs coach (and former interim DC) Lou Anarumo.
  • The Dolphins have yet to enter into “serious negotiations” with pending free agent defensive end Olivier Vernon, according to James Walker of ESPN.com. Set to reach the open market next month, the 25-year-old Vernon would surely garner plenty of interest from suitors around the league if he doesn’t reach a deal with Miami. A report last month indicated that Vernon was the club’s No. 1 priority among internal free agents.
  • Miami is unlikely to be able to retain Vernon without first restructuring the contract of fellow defensive end Cameron Wake, but the team has not approached Wake about reworking his deal, per Walker. Wake, 34, is coming off a season-ending Achilles injury, and is due to count $9.8MM against the Dolphins’ cap, but the club could save $8.4MM by releasing him.
  • Given that former Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase is head coach in Miami, it’s fair to wonder if running back Matt Forte — who was informed he won’t be re-signed in Chicago — might be a fit with the Dolphins. It’s an idea we explored today on the Pro Football Rumors Instagram account.

East Notes: Mincey, Morris, Wake, Jets

January 12th, 2016 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

After recording six sacks in his first season with the Cowboys in 2014, defensive end Jeremy Mincey failed to get to the quarterback in 2015, finishing the year without a sack. Still, Mincey was solid against the run, and thinks there’s “probably a 50-50 chance” that he’ll re-sign with Dallas as a free agent (link via Dallas Morning News).

During an appearance on KDFW-TV Channel 4 in Dallas, Mincey was also asked about Greg Hardy‘s impact on the Cowboys, and whether it would be difficult for the team to bring Hardy back and have a cohesive locker room.

“Yeah, it will be,” Mincey said. “I think it will be good for the younger guys, which I don’t know how they feel about him personally, I mean I haven’t spoken to them or asked. It would be me or him, you see what I’m saying? It would be either-or. It’s hard to have two type of line mentality guys in one room, so it’s tough to figure out who the younger guys are going to follow. Of course they’re going to look up to a guy who’s a prolific player. But I just understand the game, and I know what it takes to win.”

Here’s more from around the NFL’s East divisions:

  • With rookie running back Matt Jones cutting into Alfred Morris‘ workload this season, it’s not clear if Morris is a part of Washington‘s long-term plans. According to John Keim of ESPN.com though, the free-agent-to-be hopes not to go anywhere. “When I first came into the league, no matter what team I went to, I just wanted to do my whole career with the same team,” Morris said. “That’s still my goal. I would love to return, but a lot goes into that. I haven’t thought about that. You all keep bringing it up, but we’ll see what happens.”
  • The Dolphins will face a very difficult decision on defensive end Cameron Wake this offseason, writes James Walker of ESPN.com. Wake, who is on the books for $9.8MM in 2016, is confident he can return “better than ever” from a torn Achilles, but the club will likely have to make a call on the 34-year-old’s $8.4MM salary before he’s back to full health.
  • The Jets hosted a pair of players for workouts, taking a look at offensive lineman Lamar Holmes and CFL defensive lineman Freddie Bishop, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Holmes, a former third-round pick, started 19 games at tackle for the Falcons in 2013 and 2014, while Bishop has played for the Calgary Stampeders since ’13.

Extra Points: Dolphins, Bears, Vikes, Lions, Draft

January 2nd, 2016 at 9:56pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Dolphins’ front office and coaching staff apparently aren’t the only areas they’re going to overhaul during the offseason. The team will also make big changes to its 27th-ranked defense, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Miami ranks 24th in passing yards allowed and 25th in rating against (98.8), so it plans to strengthen its secondary in the coming months. That means adding two new cornerbacks, asking veteran corner Brent Grimes ($9.5MM cap hit in 2016) to restructure his contract, and finding another safety to complement Reshad Jones. Free agent-to-be Eric Weddle, a three-time Pro Bowler with San Diego, would be open to an offer from the Dolphins, Jackson writes. He and Jones would form an excellent tandem, but it will cost the Dolphins (or anyone else) a lot to land Weddle.

Along the front seven, the Dolphins want to keep end Cameron Wake, who tore his Achilles’ tendon in October. Doing so might require the soon-to-be 34-year-old to restructure his deal, as he’s set to count nearly $10MM against the club’s cap next season. The Dolphins hope to continue pairing Olivier Vernon with Wake to generate a pass rush, but Vernon is a free agent and retaining him might be unrealistic.

“I only get one shot [at free agency], so I’m not [doing] a hometown discount,” said Vernon.

Miami also needs to upgrade at linebacker, where Jackson believes the team will look to add one or two new starters. They could either cut Koa Misi or move him back to the middle if they’re unable to find a better outside solution than MLB Kelvin Sheppard.

More from around the NFL:

  • The Bears are open to a long-term deal with receiver Alshon Jeffery, CSNChicago.com reports. The 6-foot-3, 216-pounder landed on injured reserve Wednesday after totaling 54 catches, 807 yards and four touchdowns this year in just nine games. The soon-to-be 26-year-old is primed to cash in soon, be it with the Bears or someone else, having accumulated 228 receptions, well over 3,000 yards and 21 touchdowns over the last three years (41 games).
  • Like Jeffery, Vikings right guard Mike Harris is also a pending free agent. His ideal scenario includes re-signing with Minnesota rather than testing the open market. “That’s the hope,” Harris said, according to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “It’d be wonderful. It’d be a dream come true.” The fourth-year man has made a career-best 15 starts this season and earned a positive assessment from Pro Football Focus (subscription required), which ranks him 24th out of 81 qualifying guards.
  • Continuing the soon-to-be free agent theme, Lions safety Isa Abdul-Quddus is scheduled to hit the market in the offseason. That’s good timing, notes Kyle Meinke of MLive.com, as Abdul-Quddus is in line for a payday thanks to a career year. Abdul-Quddus, whom PFF ranks an impressive 20th out of 87 qualifying safeties, is hoping that payday comes in Detroit. “I love it here,” the 26-year-old told Meinke. “I love the coaching staff. I love Coach (Jim) Caldwell. I love everything here man, and I’d love to come back.”
  • Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee will enter the 2016 draft, Chase Goodbread of NFL.com tweets. Lee, a redshirt sophomore, is following the same path as teammates Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott and Cardale Jones – all of whom declared for the draft earlier this week.

AFC Notes: S. Smith, Jets, Wright, Wake

November 2nd, 2015 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

After Steve Smith Sr. suffered a torn Achilles during Sunday’s win over the Chargers, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was among those quick to express hope that the standout receiver will reconsider his plans to retire, telling reporters, “I have a feeling Steve Smith will be back.” As Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com details, Harbaugh wasn’t the only one in the Ravens’ locker room conveying that sentiment.

“I’ll definitely be whispering in his ear, hopefully to get him back out there,” running back Justin Forsett said.

While Smith announced before the season that 2015 would be his last year in the NFL, there are doubts that he’d want to go out this way. If he does decide to play one more year in 2016, the Ravens “would certainly welcome him back,” writes Hensley.

Here’s more from around the AFC:

  • If the Jets decide to add an outside quarterback to add depth after Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith got banged up on Sunday, don’t expect them to consider adding Ryan Mallett, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • Titans wide receiver Kendall Wright suffered a sprained MCL on Sunday, a source tells Schefter (Twitter link). However, the injury doesn’t sound nearly as serious as the MCL tear suffered by Le’Veon Bell on Sunday, which means Wright’s season shouldn’t be in jeopardy.
  • Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald examines a few options the Dolphins have with Cameron Wake, as the team decides whether or not to retain the veteran defensive end – who is recovering from a torn Achilles – for the 2016 season.
  • Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter links) identifies Chargers running back Donald Brown as a potential trade candidate in advance of tomorrow’s deadline. As Gehlken notes, Brown is buried on San Diego’s depth chart, and drew serious interest from another team when he was briefly cut by the Chargers earlier this year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/31/15

October 31st, 2015 at 3:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are today’s minor moves:

  • The Dolphins placed Cameron Wake on season-ending injured reserve after the star pass-rusher tore his Achilles’ tendon against the Patriots on Thursday night, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets. The four-time Pro Bowler will be 34 next season.
  • In addition, the Dolphins pilfered one of their AFC rivals’ practice squad players in signing tackle Ulrick John from the Colts‘ 10-man taxi unit, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (on Twitter). A seventh-round pick of Indianapolis’ last year, John’s been with the Colts since last season but hasn’t received any game action. Miami’s now dealing with the loss of starting right tackle Ja’Wuan James for several weeks, creating the need for an extra man at the position.
  • The Raiders promoted linebacker Korey Toomer to their 53-man roster and cut defensive end Shelby Harris, according to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). A fifth-round pick of the Seahawks’ in 2012, Toomer played in eight games with the Rams and Cowboys last season. Per the Associated Press’ Josh Dubow (via Twitter), Toomer has 139 career special teams snaps and no defensive plays on his resume.
  • With J.T. Thomas out for Sunday’s Week 8 game and Jon Beason questionable, the Giants signed linebacker James Morris off their practice squad and cut cornerback Brandon McGee, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News reports (on Twitter). The 24-year-old Morris spent time with the Patriots last year prior to landing on the Giants’ practice squad. He’s yet to suit up in a game.
  • The Titans made a repeat transaction in signing wide receiver Rico Richardson from their practice squad and cutting tight end Chase Coffman to make room, Jim Wyatt of Titans Online tweets. Cut earlier this week in favor of Coffman, Richardson will be needed for depth purposes for a second straight Sunday, with Harry Douglas out again with a rib injury, Wyatt reports (on Twitter).

Dolphins’ Cameron Wake Has Torn Achilles

October 30th, 2015 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

2:28pm: The Dolphins have officially confirmed the diagnosis on Wake, and will place him on the injured reserve list in the coming days (Twitter link via James Walker of ESPN.com).

8:36am: As if their 36-7 loss at the hands of the divisional-rival Patriots on Thursday night wasn’t bad enough, the Dolphins appear to have lost their top pass rusher to a season-ending injury during the game.

After Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald wrote last night that the Dolphins feared a ruptured left Achilles for defensive end Cameron Wake, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com confirms today (via Twitter) that is indeed a torn Achilles for Wake, who will miss the rest of the season.

Wake, 33, got off to a slow start this year, along with most of the rest of the Dolphins, but was a force over the last few weeks, following Dan Campbell’s hiring as interim coach. Despite not being able to finish his third game under Campbell due to his Achilles injury, Wake racked up seven sacks in those three weeks, including one takedown of Tom Brady on Thursday night.

Given his age, his contract, and the serious nature of the injury, there’s a possibility that Wake has played his last down for Miami. The four-time Pro Bowler, who has been with the team since 2009, has one year remaining on his contract, but his cap hit in 2016 will be $9.8MM, so the Dolphins will have to be pretty confident he can make a full recovery and be productive next season in order to bring him back. If the club were to cut him in the offseason, it would create $8.4MM in cap savings.

For now, the Dolphins will have to find a way to fill the pass-rushing void created by Wake’s injury. Derrick Shelby appears likely to slide into the starting lineup for Wake, while the team will also rely more heavily on Olivier Vernon to get to the quarterback.

East Notes: Bradford, Wake, Harvin

October 25th, 2015 at 9:49am CST by Rory Parks

As part of the trade that sent Nick Foles to St. Louis and Sam Bradford to Philadelphia, the Eagles had a chance to acquire a 2016 draft choice from the Rams if certain conditions were met, conditions that the clubs did not reveal when the trade was consummated. According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, those conditions pertain only to Bradford’s playing time. Once he plays 50% of the Eagles’ offensive snaps, Philadelphia will receive no compensation. If he plays fewer than 50% of the team’s snaps, the Eagles would garner a fourth-round pick in 2016 (had he played no snaps, the team would have been in line for a third-round selection in 2016).

With the season’s midway point fast approaching, it is becoming increasingly clear that the Eagles will not recover a 2016 draft choice from the Rams. Despite Bradford’s struggles this season, head coach Chip Kelly has remained steadfast in his support of his signal-caller, and although he could acquire an additional draft pick by reverting to Mark Sanchez now, all indications are that Bradford will remain under center for the foreseeable future.

Now for some more notes from the league’s east divisions:

  • When former Dolphins defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle was fired, a great number of the schematic complexities that had handcuffed some of the club’s best defensive players went with him. Relying more on individual matchups than scheme, Miami’s defense enjoyed its best game of the season last week, and defensive end Cameron Wake led the way with a whopping four sacks after recording zero in the team’s first four games. Of course, Wake won’t put up that kind of production every week, but if he goes on the type of tear he is capable of, he could be in for a big payday. Wake is scheduled to make $8.4MM in 2016, the final year of his contract, but he has significant escalators tied to his sack production. As La Canfora writes, “If [Wake] achieves 10-12 sacks he earns $750,000 more in base salary next year, while 13-14 sacks nets him an additional $1.75MM and 15 sacks earns him $3MM. Should he lead the league in sacks, the defensive lineman receives $5MM in additional base salary.”
  • In keeping with reports from earlier this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Percy Harvin is not contemplating retirement at the moment. If his hip is healthy enough to allow him, Harvin will play for the Bills this season. Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News adds (via Twitter) that Buffalo wants Harvin to play and that the team does not want to place him on IR, as Harvin would then keep his $3MM signing bonus plus the remainder of his base pay.
  • Giants tackle Will Beatty began practicing on Wednesday, which means he now has a little less than three weeks to be activated from the team’s PUP list or be placed on season-ending injured reserve. Per Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, Beatty appears to be in good physical shape and is trending towards a return. He could suit up for the Giants when they take on the Saints next week, and with rookie Ereck Flowers just settling in to the left tackle position, the team could ask Beatty to shift to right tackle, especially since current right tackle Marshall Newhouse has been inconsistent in 2015. Beatty, who last played right tackle in his rookie season in 2009, has been receptive to the possibility.

Notable Contracts Guaranteed Today

March 14th, 2015 at 4:25pm CST by Rob DiRe

On today, the fifth day of the league year, a number of contracts have become fully or partially guaranteed.

Below are a number of notable contracts that have money guaranteed as of today, according to Joel Corry of CBS Sports. All links are via Twitter.

Dolphins Notes: Philbin, Harbaugh, Wake, Clay

December 21st, 2014 at 6:23pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Following his announcement that Joe Philbin will return as the Dolphins’ head coach, owner Stephen Ross elaborated on his decision to retain the man who has lead Miami for nearly three seasons, per Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Twitter links: 1, 2, 3, 4). “We say patience is a virtue. But I’m expecting big things next year, I’ll tell you that,” said Ross. “I think everybody feels a buzz. Things are changing around here. It’s frustrating we didn’t make the playoffs. I feel as bad as everybody does. But I think we’re building something here and I believe in the coach.” Here are some more notes out of South Beach…

  • Philbin himself was understandably pleased with the news, writes Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. “This is where I want to be the head coach,” said Philbin. “Three years ago when I interviewed I came to work to Steve Ross. He’s the owner. He’s shown a lot of support to me over the years, through let’s face it, some difficult times. It’s a privilege to be the head coach and I want to do the things I said when I came here — consistently compete for championships.”
  • In the same piece, Ross tells Salguero that despite speculation that the Dolphins were interested in Jim Harbaugh, he did not contact the 49ers head coach.
  • By reaching the double-digit sack threshold during today’s game against the Vikings, defensive end Cameron Wake earned a $750K bonus, tweets Salguero.
  • Charles Clay might not generate much interest in free agency, but he could be an interesting option for a team that would employ him in an FB/TE/halfback role, opines Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (via Twitter). I pegged Clay to garner a four-year deal worth $16-18MM in August, but given his lackluster season, he won’t come anywhere near that figure.
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