It is rare for one of the top stars in the NFL to never reach the postseason at age 33. For Miami Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake, never playing a down in a playoff game is a harsh reality, but his road to the NFL has kept him motivated.
Wake’s path to the NFL has shown his perseverance and willingness to succeed. He wasn’t highly touted coming out of Penn State and went undrafted in the 2005 NFL Draft.
Wake was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent but was released prior to training camp. After being unsuccessful in signing with an NFL team, Wake decided to join the CFL and signed with the BC Lions.
Switching from linebacker, where he played mostly in college to defensive end with the Lions changed Wake’s career. In 2007 for the BC Lions, Wake recorded 16 sacks, which was the most in the CFL. At the conclusion of the season, Wake was named CFL Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Wake had an even better 2008 season for the BC Lions as he again lead the league in sacks with 23 and won the 2008 CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award. After that season, some NFL teams were interested in Wake, but he decided to sign with the Dolphins.
In his six seasons in the NFL, Wake has been one of the best defensive linemen in the game. He has 63 career sacks and Wake has made four Pro Bowl appearances. Wake has also become one of the leaders for the Dolphins as he has won the Don Shula Leadership Award the past two seasons.
Despite all his individual success, Wake hopes 2015 is the season he finally gets a taste of playoff football.
Miami has finished 8-8 each of the last two years and hasn’t reached the postseason since the 2008 season, the year prior to Wake arriving in Miami.
“My fingers are crossed,” Wake said after the first OTA opened to the media. “It’s the new year and it feels really good, obviously.”
Miami has certainly surrounded Wake with a lot of talent offensively and defensively. One of the team’s newest additions is All-Pro defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
This offseason, Suh signed a six-year, $114 million contract with a $60 million signing bonus, which made him the highest paid defensive player in the NFL.
The Dolphins hope Wake along with Suh will prevent their defensive from faulting like they did last December. If the first OTA practice was any indication, then the combination of Wake and Suh will be a terror to opposing quarterbacks.
Wake and Suh lined up next to each other during practice and spent as much time in the backfield as starting running back Lamar Miller. Having Wake and Suh on the same line should make each Pro Bowl defensive lineman that much better.
“The sky is always going to be the limit for us, Suh said. “Anybody who lines up next to me and whoever I line up next…at the end of the day, we always want to be somebody’s nightmare. We always want to cause havoc no matter who is on the field. That’s our job. That is what we are here to do.”
Miami certainly has the talent to make the playoffs in 2015. With New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady possibly missing the team’s first four games of the season, the Dolphins could have a lot to play for in their last game of the season in early January.
You can follow Antwan on Twitter @antwanstaley
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