How far is Cam Wake willing to go to make point?

Today marked the first day of the Dolphins 2012 offseason conditioning program. Cameron Wake did not attend in protest of the fact he has one year remaining on his contract and wants an extension and doesn't have anything close to that right now.

Wake obviously deserves a new contract in due time.

The Dolphins want to give him that new contract in due time.

The question is what is the appropriate due time.

Wake obviously believes that time is now and he took this mild step to make his point. But here is the question:

How far is he willing to go to make the point more strongly? If he doesn't have an extension will he sit out OTAs? Will he sit out the mandatory minicamp? Will he sit out training camp?

As he increases the pressure he puts on the team by missing increasingly important dates he also loses traction in that he is obligated to be present, can be fined and, ultimately, is still under contract for 2012.

So this bears watching going forward.

Comments

[dusty bottoms]

id deal wake right now, older guy. give me 2 -2's

[We Have Draft Picks]

Defense Wins,

I like Matt Moore as well & there's no reason why he shouldn't be the starter this year regardless of whether we take Tannehill BUT if Philbin/Sherman think Tannehill can be special in a year or two (which I don't know if he can) then I would take him. The only reason I say this is b/c I trust Philbin/Sherman in evaluating QB's.

If we wind up taking Ingram or Coples that's not such a bad deal.

[DEFENSE WINS!]

Would the Fins take Clairborne if his Wonderlic score makes him drop to #8?

I realize his score would probably be a killer for many positions but how much would it affect the cornerback position?

[Yesterday's Gone]

Wakes a fool. Even us dumb fans know we sit at $6million under cap right now and still have to sign draft picks. He's only proving he's dumber than a fan right now and holding out at this point serves zero. At this point theres no money to give him without going over cap before we even draft the first rookie.

Somehow before the season starts more cap room has to be created. Then Wake can get more money. How in the hell can Wake get more money right now when technically it really doesnt exist($6 million under cap and still have to sign draft picks).

Seems Jake Long is smart enough to understand this right now. Once space has been cleared and then they dont approach him to extend and give him more money. Then I would better understand holding out. Its dumb as a bag a rocks right now.

[Yesterday's Gone]

Somebody had better give Dansby a call to get him to take a pay cut. Its reported Dansby will make $12 million this year. Take $5 million from that and Dansby will have what he's really worth($7 million) and the other $5 million given to Wake.

Problem solved!

[We Have Draft Picks]

"id deal wake right now, older guy. give me 2 -2's"

Why??? So Ireland can screw up those picks & take another Pat White or another Henne or another Misi or another Merling or another Sean Smith??? Ireland has not hit on one 2nd round pick. I realize Smith has been a starter but come on...He's very inconsistent & he doesn't force turnovers. I would be VERY surprised if Richard Marshall doesn't beat him out this off season. And it's just too early to say on Daniel Thomas.

Wake is only 30 & if he continues to stay healthy he'll have another 3 or 4 solid seasons.

[DEFENSE WINS!]

Dusty,
The following quote was from the palm beach post.

"Moore, 27, was 6-6 as a starter last season, finishing with a respectable 16:9 touchdown-to-interception ratio, twice winning the AFC's Offensive Player of the Week award and finishing 12th in the league with an 87.1 passer rating. His completion percentage of 60.5 was 16th among NFL starters."

You can cut and past the link below to read the article.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/dolphins/miami-dolphins-matt-moore-says-he-is-ok-2265605.html

So he was the AFC's Offensive Player of the Week twice out of 16 weeks. That's not bad.

[odinseye]

Dusty,
This past Sunday Moore played perhaps the best game of his career in a 31-3 thrashing of the Kansas City Chiefs. It was the first win for Miami (1-7), and the performance was good enough to earn Moore AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors from the NFL on Wednesday.

Moore was very efficient. He was 17-of-23 for 244 yards and three touchdowns. Moore also had a stellar 147.5 passer rating and led the league in Total Quarterback Rating.

Want to make another bet?

[We Have Draft Picks]

"Seems Jake Long is smart enough to understand this right now. Once space has been cleared and then they dont approach him to extend and give him more money. Then I would better understand holding out. Its dumb as a bag a rocks right now."

YG,

I see your point about Wake since our cap situation sucks but whose fault is that??? If I'm Wake--or more specifically Wake's agent--why would I trust these guys to pay my guy rather than milking him for a fraction of what he SHOULD be making for this season???

Long is making over $10 Million this year & he broke the bank when he was drafted Number One so why would he hold out????

[mik]

dusty bottoms just got a beat down!

[Dolfan Rick]

In the past couple of months I think I have seen suggestions by one fan or the other to get rid of every good player we have.

Solia,Long, Davis, Dansby,Bush, and now Wake????

Those post wedged in between the Fire Ireland post and of course the troll post.

I mean if these guys haven't been able to build a team in 4 years, how are they going to build a team from scratch??

[DEFENSE DOESNT MATTER]

dusty doesnt know football

[oscar canosa]

Would love to pick Kuechly or Decastro at #8 except if Ireland thinks Tannehill will be something special. Those 2 are immediate starters and impact Players. We'll work around our needs farther down in the Draft.

[odinseye]

YG,

There is a SEPERATE Rookie Draft Pick pool that has ALREADY been set aside for this years draft picks.

They already count against our cap number of 6.4 million.

Thus the signing of our draft class will have no bearing on Wake and how much money is available for him to restructure.

Stick to Football YG, the salary cap math is a little complicated ;)

[DEFENSE WINS!]

I believe that at least two unexpected picks will happen between the #3 and #7 picks.

Someone will move up to take Tannehill and the Rams will take Reiff to protect injury prone Bradford instead of Blackmon.

This will make two players drop to #8 that the Fins didn't expect to be there. They could stay put and take the best player on their board or listen to offers.

I would only move down if I still had a chance to get Coples or Ingram and pick up at least a third rd. pick.

[Darryl Dunphy]

...Way back in December I wrote a post that said I thought that Wake would be a hold out this year. If he does remains to be seen. The team is in a bind here. what should they do? I can't speak for the team. IMO I think that they see Wake for what he is. A good, but not great pass rusher that is on the wrong side of a big contract(age wise) He is our best pass rush option, so that should count for something. But among the games elite???Not even. He is a good player that deserves more then the salary he is earning now. But what I think Wake should look at is that the Phins took a chance on him..He was a longshot coming out of the CFL..The Phins did their due dilligence on him and it paid of for the team. I'm sure he will be compensated for his efforts..How much so we will see.

If Wake thinks he is deserving of a top contract at his position he is on another planet..Yes he is important to the team as we have nobody else to rush the passer. I get that, and I'm sure Wakes agent will make that clear. But you do not give a 30 year old pass rusher with 1 pro bowl season a huge contract extension..That would be insane.

[fin4life]

After the CBA was signed prior to the 2011 Season it was revealed that the CAP would be set at 120 Million with an additional 20 Mil in ancillary benefits (additional subordinate funds) The CAP floor was then set at 90% or 108 Mil minimum that teams had to invest in player payroll. The Dolphins were at this point sitting on 103.1 Mil. in CAP (T.V. Money) tied into the 2011 Season with Marshall (11 Mil), Dansby (12 Mil) and Long (10.5) Mil tying up close to 30% of our CAP space.

Our only significant additions were Bush (5.5 Mil) Moore (3 Mil) and Burnett (5 Mil) whose contract was a wash for Crowder's raising our CAP # by only 8.5 Mil in the 1st Year of a rookie CAPPED wage scale. The fact that a team with as many holes as Miami finds itself only 6 Mil under the CAP for 2012 after subtracting the 11.5 Mil owed Marshall this year goes a long way to explaining the incompetence of this F.O. !!! The Patriots and Broncos were at the onset of FA between 30 to 45 Mil under the CAP and one went into the Div. round of the playoffs while the other went to the Super Bowl.

We also subtracted Y.Bell whose on his way to either Philly or N.E. because his 4.5 Mil was more than a player of his extended career was worth add it to Marshall's # and we are already at the staggering figure of 15 Mil in CAP relief with no large FA splurge to speak of and were still only 6 Mil under the CAP looking at an incomplete team overloaded at some spots and incredibly under staffed at others with a glorified scout running our F.O. looking for his next find regardless of position while mixing and matching the OL for the 5th straight Yr., please it's not all on Sparano the players signed to our OL were inked on the bottom line by Ireland!!!

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO WANTS TO LOOK AT OUR BOOKS AND SEE WERE THE 119 MILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT IS ON A TEAM WITH NO Q.B. OR STUD W.R., T.E., SAFETY, RCB, RIGHT OG OR TACKLE WITH NO PASS RUSH THREAT AT SLB HAS THE MONEY INVESTED WITH ONLY 6 MIL TO SPARE ON DRAFT DAY AND THERE BEST D PLAYER HOLDING OUT??????????????????????

[redsky]

Good post fin4!

[fin4life]

Darryl @ 10:41,

I believe Wake a one dimensional player but so is Harrison and a host of other players whose numbers are helped by solid SLB play. Wake managed good numbers with no help from the strong side and while not worth the 8 to 9 Mil that some of those others get is in my opinion worthy of about 6 Mil in base pay, the Steelers excuse the size of the deal Harrison has on the fact that he leads his team. I believe Wake leads ours and by the way you think the drop off in play with Clay Matthews last Yr. had something to do with the loss of his best pass rushing DL to Philly?

[fin4life]

Hey redsky!

Been a while my friend!

[Darryl Dunphy]

...fin4life. I think that Wake should be due a raise. The issue, and you brought it up in your post @ 10:43..Look at the teams in our division. Our roster is littered with overpaid players that underproduce. Our freekin kicker makes 2 million dollars this year?? We lead the division in Dead Money over 13 million, the Pats 10 mil, the Bills 8 mil, and the jets 2 mill..It is insane...We have 2 players making close to 20 million dollars a year..Now I get it that Long was the first pick, and he was going to get paid reguardless..But Richie Incognito makes more then Chad Clifton? Randy Starks at over 3 million a year?? you go down our pay scale, and the players on our roster routinley make more then the average salary for each position by starter..Yet the production is poo.

Wake is one of the playrs that deserves to be paid. A top contract no.But above the average salsry fo his position. I'm sure he will be paid handsomely. And I understand that we cannot just go up and down the roster and cut all of the bad contracts..but we could start..Go check out the site jetscap.com. and it breaks down every team in the divisions salary cap structures..it is shocking to look at our squad compaired to the other teams in the division, and the totals we pay our guys compaired to their production against the other teams in the division...You Ireland supporters should check this out as well..PArt of the job, one of the most crucial after finding talent is salary structure..This is a failure that cannot be argued in his favor.

[ALoco]

wake is a player you can't FIND A PLAYER LIKE HIM ,PERIOD ,,,,,,,,,, HE PLAYED REAL WELL UNTIL LAST YEAR WHERE WE STARTED 0-7 .SO HE SAID TO HIMSELF ,(( I BETTER DO LIKE THE OTHER GUYS AND MAKE SURE I DON'T GET INJURED ));;;;;;;;;;;

RELEASE DANSBY AND SAVE ALL HIS MONEY AND SIGN WAKE ......

[D0]

Some of you people are stupid as f*ck, especially that dumb a** n*gga ALoco, get the f*ck off the blog dumb a**

[ALoco]

I AM WHITE D0 ...............IS YOUR MAMA A HOOKER ?

[fin4life]

Darryl,

You know you'll get NO argument out of me regarding the 119 Mil committed to our 2012 roster when analyzing the glaring holes on the team and your questions and mine go hand in hand your 11:12 post and my 10:43 post should give Mando an idea or two regarding blog topic. I was however pointing out how ludicrous our books must read if were at only 6 Mil under with so many ?'s and Wake sitting at a base of 615K, like Bush said last year we stink!! And our glorified Scout/G.M. leading the way, I will give that CAP structure site you put up a look now, thanks or appreciate the nightmare!

[fishboat]

Aloco please tell us what is going on with NJ Phin Phony

[Pappadapolous]

NJ has his own site now, but he was on the Sentinel bad mouthing a woman blogger. Nj is such the man

[flyrodderbob]

Why sign Merling to over a million but Wake makes less than that? That's messed up! Pay Wake!!

[Finsfan in CT]

ALoco,

Do us a favor....if you are going to post, please make it SEMI-intelligent comments and LEARN TO SPELL!!!

[Flipper13]

Pay the man his money.

[Lou Costello]

Thanks Pappadapolous...

I think I'll go read what he said...because unlike YOU...
He's somewhat entertaining!

[ralphflorida]

Yesterday's Gone and fin4life make very good points. I agree with you guys.
My take on this is that we do not want to take 2 weeks of time to re-negotiate this contract right now. There is one person we know is working 16 hour days in April and that is Ireland – Guys we all forget this will be the most important draft in years for the Miami Dolphins, and it is almost here, and it appears to be one of the most fluid ones in many years. There are a myriad of deals being discussed at this time with other teams, we are exploring many ideas and possibilities, and watching countless hours of tape on college players, and there are daily meetings, sometimes 12 hours a day, including weekends, with scouts and team members going on. This is not the time for the general of our team to be distracted by trying to re-negotiate the contract of one of our players no matter who that player is. Remember it will be complicated because of the CAP so to raise Cam’s salary we have to probably restructure other contracts. That takes time.
There will be plenty of time to handle the Wake contract after the draft
I am sure that Ireland already has a plan in place if he told him he would re-negotiate his contract prior to the start of the season
So both sides are doing the right thing
The FO has to concentrate on the draft
The player has to make sure he does not get injured right now
Please as fans, let’s stop being and acting like children.
This situation will be handled appropriately when the dust has settled
First let’s concentrate on the draft – too many things going on and the staff has to evaluate over 700 players intimately to be able to have a good draft and make the right choices plus we need to know what each team ahead and behind us wants to do. Who will they most likely pick, and let’s run different scenarios so that we can be ready for all eventualities. Draft trades are planned and if a certain player is available at a certain time we will call these 5 teams to try to get a trade going, etc etc. We have all given our 2 cents worth of advice on this blog. Who we should take, what position do we need first, do we take one of the elite 6 if available or do we trade down – I am sure these are all questions that are in the process of evaluation right now and we need to concentrate on this first.
Wake isn’t going anywhere, and his missing practice right now is a non-factor, and we all know it. So let’s cut Ireland some slack, and we all wish him well in this draft. We know you will be graded on this draft. Do well. Make us proud. I still believe we are not that far away from having a winning team again.

Wake not showing up for a conditioning program is no big deal. It is not a problem – Armando should have known this – and it surprises me that Armando sometimes writes articles that inflate the situation instead of reporting it in a more objective positive manner. In order to give Wake a better contract there will have to be some contracts re-negotiated. There are definitely some folks that are overpaid. So that will be dealt with in time also. We need to make more room in the Cap space but right now we are trying to do other things (Not more important, but more pressing for sure) We do not have as bad a team as half of you think. We do have many players that are overpaid. We have one that is underpaid, (Wake) and that one will probably get a long term deal, and be compensated for his real worth soon enough. How can anyone call the front office cheap. We are one of the highest paid teams in the NFL. But right now, is not the time to deal with Wake. Let’s make sure we stay focused on the draft and we will make things right with Wake after the draft. All you bloggers stop with the insults. They are only showing how dumb some of us are. Think before you blog please.

[payuengsnwings]

With ya Ralph

[Professor Lou]

Would love to pick Kuechly or Decastro at #8 except if Ireland thinks Tannehill will be something special. Those 2 are immediate starters and impact Players. We'll work around our needs farther down in the Draft.
Posted by: oscar canosa | April 10, 2012 at 10:00 PM

__________________

Impact is what it's all about. If you're going to pick a guy that high he needs to make an impact as quickly as possible. If Miami were to take a player like Tannehill at that position they are throwing away the future on a guy that may never be any better than Henne. If you look at the way he played in college, other than his athleticism, the similarities to Henne's play at Michigan are there. Inconsistent, bad ball placement and terrible on the long ball. I'm just not feeling it.

[Professor Lou]

With the draft a little more than two weeks away does anyone have an "acorn" they would like to share?
It's your chance to be Jeff Ireland for a day and pick your own acorn. Click on my name and pick the guy you think is an "acorn"; someone who will go in a later round and isn't on a lot of people's radar but you like and would like to see him on Miami's roster.
Give your reasons for picking the player and post it on Professor Lou's NFL Draft Blog.
Let's see what you can come up with.

[tnhillbilly]

Let him stay home and play with mama or go back to canada. He's just hurting hisself, no play no pay, no chance to show his skills to any other team that might be dumn enough to want him. What a jerk, he's not a pro just another punk that thinks he's mr. big sh-t!!!

[Wantin me some gravy]

Trade Wake for a couple of 3rd rounders. Add to the war chest! lol.

[dusty bottoms]

yeah great idea, matt moore is a franchise qb,lol hilarious. i agree on building defense still but moore isnt anything but a backup qb, get real fellas

[NHFINSFAN]

Wake knows he's good, the fans know he's good & management knows he's good.
Therefore Wake will get his pay day...problem is, he wants it guaranteed now?

Wake, it's a privilege to play in the NFL and you were blessed with God given talents so just follow the rules that the man has laid out and every little thing going to be alright.

By "making a statement" all you are doing is ruining your name and alienating a dedicated fan base...I for one HATE players who sit out of training came like a freaking pre-madonna only to return with a giant smirk on their faces once they extort $$$ from their owners.

Without the fans, these are just over-sized men chasing a dead pig around an open field...go figure.

[Tim Knight]

Yup!

[NJ PHIN FAN]

Tim, i'm breing my little anus and greek salad dressing is that ok?

[NJ PHIN FAN]

^ bringing my little anus

[Tim Knight]

Yup!
have patience the Dolphins will be good in 3 years.

[Swampbilly]

A wise old owl once said it is wiser to remain silent and to be thought of as a fool then to open your mouth and remove all doubt. It is obvious most of you have not a clue.

[NJ PHIN FAN]

i got me dumb bells and some steroids to make my 160 lb body look freakishly deformed.
i likes the irsih basketball team in one state, i like s the dolphin fish tean in another state, i likes the hockey team in another state and wish i could stand on ice skates.
i hate all sports teams around me and hate girls.
fat girls, skinny girls and girls with chicken pox like hot dogs, Armor hot dogs!

oops nevermind

back to yelling about a basket ball team

BAHHAAAHHAA!

Your team Stinks! my team = great

ok off to the gym to work my arms, yup Tim!

[DavidR]

Didn't idiot owner Steve Ross tell us that money wasn't an issue? Clearly Wake deserves a new contract.

[T. Martin]

Let's be honest. Fireland is just lucky that Wake isn't demanding a trade.

[greg z.]

whenever someone(ross) says its not about the money, its about the money. why else bring flynn in and try to sign him "on the cheap" with a lo-ball offer?

[Allen]

i would look very hard into trading wake ----it matters whats type of money he is looking for ---Im not payinh him anything north of 6 mill a year---

To be honest with you i would trade him, if i couldnt find a 1st or 2nd round pick--then i might look to extend him but at my price---He is ggod player not a great player--- he doesnt line-up vs left tackles--- I see RT in this league have very good games vs him---I like Wake but not at 7-12 mill a year.

LOOk at the best team the Giants--and their philosphy they dont overpay D-Ends they draft them

Osi-- was locked into a 7 yr 41 mill deal

Tuck-- 5yr 30 mil deal

JPP, Kiwanuki---draft picks

They have a stable of ends and no1 is making more then 5- 6 mill---

This idea THAT WE PICK UP ACCORNS IN DRAFT ---makes me laugh---Best teams in NFL ---Draft the best players---THEY DONT WIN BY OVERPAYING IN FREE AGENCY

Ireland has had misses like any other GM in NFL but if you look at his 1st round picks---the only questionable pick to me was Drafting oderick and misi instead of taking JPP---(Who I banged the Table for) when armando and others were stuck on brandon graham.

Lets see how he drafts---

Best pass rusher to me--
1. Chandler Jones (Hands Down)