Miami Dolphins Secure Top Pass Rusher, Extend Cameron Wake Though 2016

Published: 6^th May 12 5:17 pm

by Jeff Everette
jeffeverette

RANT It!

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Cameron Wake has made his desire for a new contract no secret this offseason. For the first time in his NFL career, Wake was a no show at the Miami Dolphins voluntary workouts in early April, bringing the contract dispute to the forefront of the Dolphins’ offseason issues.

A contract extension seemed to be the least likely outcome considering the Dolphins financial situation. With limited funds at their disposal, Miami has pushed itself to the limit having signed 16 undrafted free agents, a handful of veterans, and after making good use of a full complement of Draft picks. Cameron Wake looked as if he were destined to play out the last year of a meager contract, and face being hit with the franchise tag in 2013.

Then Wake posted this on his twitter account @Kold91, surprising everyone.

#Donedeal.... http://t.co/YY9AOLNy

May 6, 2012 11:05 am via InstagramReplyRetweetFavorite

@Kold91

Cameron Wake

Signing a contract extension worth $49 million over the next 4 years, with $20 million guaranteed, puts Wake among the highest paid pass rushers in the NFL, a place he deserves to be. Over the last two seasons, Wake has put up 22.5 sacks, with over half of them coming on 3rd down. He is a hybrid player, a dangerous rusher from anywhere around the line of scrimmage, and excels at forcing opposing offenses off of the field.

Signing Wake to extension is a great move by General Manager Jeff Ireland, not only securing one of the best pass rushers, and a shining star of the Dolphins roster, for the next 4 years, but also going a long way towards appeasing the Dolphin faithful that have been calling for his termination. Although the offseason started off rough for the GM and the Dolphins franchise, things have started to look up over the last few weeks, drafting a solid cast of rookies, including a hopeful franchise quarterback in Ryan Tannehill, and now eliminating the destraction of a Wake holdout.

The Dolphins are still behind the rest of the AFC East in terms of strengthening their roster this offseason, but they have made another huge step in the right direction.

Jeff Everette is a featured columnist for Rant Sports. You can follow him on twitter @jeverettesports, or his facebook page Jeff Everette- Rant Sports, for all of his latest articles, opinions, and rants.