Dolphins and Cameron Wake far apart on new deal

The Miami Dolphins want to restructure the contract of Cameron Wake. His $9.5 million salary is a little much for the team right now. Cam Wake isn’t opposed to it but still there is a big divide between the two sides.

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The issue is unclear. Miami wants to reduce his cap number much lower and Wake wants to help but at the prices the Dolphins are talking about. He feels that he should still receive in some way the money that is due to him. 2016 is the final year of his contract. The Dolphins would like to lock him up for another year or two allowing him to finish his career with the Dolphins but what each side wants may not be possible.

The news of the divide broke yesterday afternoon via multiple reports on Twitter from local media. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald also reported the situation on his daily blog.

The Dolphins have only two options here. They could live with his cap hit this year and address the situation next off-season as free agency approaches or they can release him. If Wake is unwilling to restructure his deal to the satisfaction of the team, and the team is unwilling to restructure to the satisfaction of Wake, then why bother? Let Wake, 34 and coming off an Achilles injury go somewhere else.

Honestly, and this is in no way a popular opinion and never has been, I’m fine with Wake leaving. Wake is good in pass rushing but he is somewhat of a one trick pony. His coverage skills are weak and his ability to support the run on the edge isn’t near the top of the NFL. He is a 3rd down specialist these days. There is no doubt that he has a tremendous amount of talent and a desire to win but reality is reality and Wake is not getting any younger or healthier.

At some point the Dolphins have to realize that this is a business and players will sometimes finish their careers elsewhere. Zach Thomas did and so did Jason Taylor until his final season return to Miami. As much as I like Wake, Wake is no ZT or JT.

With the Dolphins using the transition tag on Olivier Vernon Tuesday they can work harder to get a deal in place long term and if it’s at the expense of Wake, then so be it. Wake may very well get the same amount of money on the open market there are plenty of defensive end thirsty teams that will overpay for his services. Miami isn’t going to be winning a championship next season and they most likely won’t be winning a division title either. If the team needs to trim some salary now to put themselves in better shape later, then do what needs to be done.