While playing in the frigid temperatures of the Canadian Football League, the thought of becoming NFL stars had to have been the farthest thing from the minds of Miami Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner.
Both Wake and Browner had been largely overlooked as undrafted free agents coming out of college. Browner got a brief look from the Denver Broncos before heading north to play for the Calgary Stampeders. Wake was out of football for two years before getting a tryout with the B.C. Lions.
Their success in Canada led both to finally get a chance in the NFL and taking full advantage of the opportunities. Now both having become Pro Bowlers, the two will meet on the field for the first time since their days in the CFL Sunday as the Seahawks travel to Miami to play the Dolphins.
Wake is having arguably the most productive all-around season by a defensive end in the NFL this season. His 9.5 sacks is the best in the league by a 4-3 defensive end with 34 tackles and a forced fumble to go along with it.
Browner has three interceptions, two forced fumbles and 37 tackles this year for the Seahawks.
With the successes of Browner and Wake making the transition from the CFL, it’s only logical to wonder how many other players the NFL has missed on that are now playing in Canada. Both Browner and Wake feel there are many players in Canada also capable of making the jump to the NFL if given the opportunity.
“There are a lot of guys up there who could play the game, who could definitely make it down here, but a lot of guys aren’t getting the opportunity,” Wake said in a conference call Wednesday. “I’m just grateful and blessed that I was, and I had to make the most of it.”
According to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times, Browner knows there are other players that have the talent to play in the NFL that haven’t received that chance.
“Guys that played with us, and who know us personally, feel they can be here,” Browner said. “And I personally feel there’s a lot of guys up there that can play here.”
Maybe the success of Browner and Wake forces teams to take a closer look at some of the talent playing north of the border. With as competitive as scouting can be in the lead up to the draft and the large money thrown to free agents in the NFL, it might be possible for teams to find a bargain in an unexpected place.
Former CFL stars Brandon Browner, Cameron Wake meet again SundaySeahawks cornerback Brandon Browner and Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake had to prove themselves in the Canadian Football League before getting their chances in the NFL.
By Larry Stone
Seattle Times staff reporter
Brandon Browner made 2012 Pro Bowl.
Cameron Wake has 9½ sacks this season.
Sunday
Before the 2009 season, the Miami Dolphins summoned two Canadian Football League stars for a morning workout. Cameron Wake of the B.C. Lions went first, then Brandon Browner of the Calgary Stampeders.
Both players still burned with an NFL dream, one that had been deferred, against their will, for years. But the Dolphins made it clear: Just one would be chosen out of this tryout.
"It was me or him," Browner recalled. "They told both of us, 'We're going to sign one of you guys.' They signed him. I had to go back another year."
Browner, of course, would eventually get a shot with the Seahawks in 2011 after four seasons in the CFL. And now, when Seattle meets Miami on Sunday, these two CFL refugees are firmly established as key figures in their defenses.
Wake, 30, ranks fifth in the NFL with 9 ½ sacks and is regarded as a candidate for defensive player of the year. The defensive end earned a Pro Bowl berth with a 14-sack season in 2010.
Browner, 28, made the Pro Bowl last year after leading the Seahawks with six interceptions and setting the franchise's season record for return yards (220). Now, in his second year starting at cornerback, Browner has become an anchor in one of the NFL's best secondaries.
Both players are testaments to perseverance in the face of obstacles, and also to the vagaries of evaluating football players. It was noted Wednesday to Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson — a college teammate of Wake's at Penn State, when he went by the first name of "Derek" — that Wake and Browner are a reminder that scouting is an inexact science.
"Yeah, and how wrong people are a lot of the times," Robinson replied. "Miami got lucky."
So did Seattle. Browner had caught Pete Carroll's eye as an oversized defensive back at Oregon State, but when he departed the Beavers with two years of eligibility remaining, the NFL missed his potential. Browner went undrafted, signed with the Broncos, but landed on injured reserve because of a broken forearm. Denver cut him during training camp the following season, and Browner's only recourse was to join the Stampeders.
Wake had an even more arduous journey to the NFL. He, too, was undrafted out of college, and was cut by the Giants after a look-see in 2005. For two years, Wake was out of football, working as a mortgage broker until the B.C. Lions gave him a shot in 2007. "I remember to this day that when I stepped onto their campus at camp, I was the fourth-string defensive lineman," Wake said Wednesday in a conference call. "I told myself, 'I'm going to take this spot. It's open, it's going to be mine.' "
Wake did just that, and then turned the CFL on its ear. He won defensive player of the year honors both seasons and led the league with 23 sacks in 2008. By 2009, he said there was "a melee" among NFL teams eager to sign him.
"It was a tough road coming from sitting on the couch, fourth string, starting in the CFL, all the way to playing in the NFL in the Pro Bowl," he said.
The message is clear, Browner says. His success, along with Wake and Dolphins punt returner Marcus Thigpen, who played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2010-11, is proof that talent abounds in Canada.
"Guys that played with us, and who know us personally, feel they can be here," Browner said. "And I personally feel there's a lot of guys up there that can play here."
Added Wake, "I was up there for two years and saw a lot of guys who could play the game of football. It's unfortunate a lot of us don't get to show that to the world on the grandest stage."
But now Wake and Browner have both made the cut.
[url]Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or
lstone@seattletimes.com Only positive comments about the CFL at the bottom of the first story from US readers...our league gets a good amount of respect south of border, I've found that most (all?) CFL-bashers are self-loathing Canadians.
CKA Uber 
