Cameron Wake is gone for 2015 and the speculation that he may have played his last game for the Miami Dolphins is real. But the truth is if this torn Achilles tendon separates Wake from the Miami Dolphins for good, it may very well be his decision.
When he tore his Achilles against New England last week, Wake did so with one year remaining on a contract that will cost $9.8 million against the 2016 cap.
So the decision for the Dolphins is whether to go ahead and keep that contract as is, with Wake coming back at age 34 from an injury-plagued 2015 that included a nagging hamstring injury and the catastrophic Achilles tendon injury. And logic will dictate the Dolphins would likely want nothing to do with that one-year situation.
So their option, as speculated by everyone, is to keep him at that price or cut him and gain the $8.4 million in cap relief such a move would bring.
But there is another option that has not been considered anywhere I've seen: Extend Wake while restructuring his deal.
The Dolphins could tell Wake's agent they want to keep him at a more palatable price while also offering maybe a year or two more on a deal that could give Wake roughly the money he was expecting in 2015 (maybe even a bit more in the form of a bonus) while giving the Dolphins cap relief and a couple of more years of service from a player who has otherwise been productive and a hard worker.
It would be smart for the Dolphins to offer this because, let's face it, they don't have a ready replacement for Wake at this stage. Dion Jordan was supposed to be that guy but, well, drugs and the suspensions his addiction wrought have made that seem unlikely.
Olivier Vernon is a free agent and as the team has not approached him about an extension, he's likely headed to the highest bidder in free agency. Derrick Shelby, who now becomes a starter, also is unsigned for 2016 and likely headed to free agency to the highest bidder.
And so from the team standpoint, keeping Wake for a couple of years at least as a pass-rush specialist and doing so at a lower cap charge could be a benefit.
But remember I told you this would probably be Cameron Wake's call?
In that scenario, Wake would have to 1. Agree to extend while restructuring the 2016 deal and 2. Want to stay in Miami through the possibility of a rebuild.
I use the term rebuild in the sense the Dolphins may have a new head coach and new defensive coordinator and thus a new defense in a few months. And As Wake has been through three defensive coordinators already, he might not be eager to through another he cannot necessarily pick.
So how could Wake pick his next DC? All he has to do is decline to restructure or extend. Call the Dolphins' bluff about not paying him $9.8 million in 2016 and see what happens. If the Dolphins cut Wake, he'll be a free agent.
And my guess is someone else will pay him.
And my guess is Wake might want to explore that possibility because that would allow him to chose a team. This is where I remind you Cameron Wake has never played in the playoffs. He just finished his seventh NFL season and seventh season with Miami and has never competed in the postseason and will not this year, either, regardless of whether the Dolphins make it or not.
That has to factor for Wake.
So maybe he wants to go to a team that has a better chance to make the playoffs than the Dolphins. Maybe he wants to take a shot at winning a Super Bowl ring.
Remember that about this time in his career, Jason Taylor decided he needed to try and get in the playoffs for one final shot at a ring. He didn't get it. But he did get to the AFC title game while the Dolphins missed the playoffs (again).
The point is Wake might want this also.
If he does, he will have options.
Yes, there is fallout from this injury, which includes the Dolphins possibly making a business decision about not wanting to play an aging player coming back from a serious injury nearly $10 million.
But the fallout must also factor what Cameron Wake might want to do as well.
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