Exhale, football fans! We. Are. Back!
The Dolphins were on the field for the first time since organized team activities wrapped up in early June, with an eye toward the season-opener in Indianapolis, which is just 46 days away.
Before we catch up on the action on the field, a bit of housekeeping.
The Dolphins announced the following roster moves Tuesday afternoon:
Head Coach Mike McDaniel addressed each of the moves at his Wednesday morning press conference. While there's no timetable for Liam Eichenberg's return, the injury is not a season-ender, per McDaniel, but it could force Eichenberg to miss multiple weeks.
"I'm not going to put a timeline on it and I wouldn't bet against arguably as tough of a player as I've been around," McDaniel said. "He's played in football games that a majority of players that I've coached wouldn't be able to, so I'm feeling good about an unknown timeline because of the player. But … it's not like a season-ender or anything like that."
The Ifeatu Melifonwu and Darren Waller moves were precautionary, per McDaniel. He also offered up a scouting report on new offensive lineman, Daniel Brunskill.
"Dan Brunskill is the dude who is going to be over-prepared, competitive," McDaniel said. "He's assuming right now that you guys have nothing good to say about him, and he's going to work to prove you otherwise. That's how he operates and that's a mentality I think is important in the NFL."
As for today's practice, lightning forced the team indoors for the opening portion before going outside under a steady downpour. It was the perfect backdrop for a practice that had a heavy emphasis on the run game with both sides sharing wins. Defensive tackle Zach Sieler and linebackers Jordyn Brooks and Bradley Chubb all had tackles for loss with Chubb adding a would-be sack on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Grayson Murphy also added a sack.
Chubb got his production moving across the defensive formation but was held in check by left tackle Patrick Paul. Paul drew one-on-ones against all the Dolphins premiere pass game wreckers and held his own against Chubb, Chop Robinson and Jaelan Phillips.
Paul, and the rest of the Dolphins offensive line, looked the part as they paved the way for a handful of explosive runs from running backs De'Von Achane and Jaylen Wright.
Wright showed speed to win the angles created by his patient running. He had two runs of 10-plus yards on the day. Achane caught two passes from Tagovailoa and had a cut-back run of his own for a big gain. New linemen Jonah Savaiinaea and James Daniels helped pry open those gaps showcasing a combination of athleticism and brute physicality.
Outside, Austin Jackson was a big part of the run game success.
"I'm really excited for our run game this year," Jackson said. "It's kind of what we hang our hat on in this system. We're very proud of it. We're proud of the techniques we use to block. We're looking forward to it for everybody, for every concept we have."
The run game set up the aerial attack as wide receiver Erik Ezukanma had two catches for big gains on Wednesday, including this long catch-and-run for a touchdown.
On defense, the Dolphins added a five-time Pro Bowler with exceptional production earlier this month. Now, Minkah Fitzpatrick is back on the field for the team that drafted him in 2018, and McDaniel is ecstatic.
"I'm elated to add Minkah to the team because it's an opportunity to have a player that I've been coaching off of and plays the position the way that we here want to play the position, that he gets to actually play the position," McDaniel said. "It's a real good fit based on his skill set both athletically and what he's able to do with his transitions in the open field and then elite ball skills."
Fitzpatrick cut off a deep route by wide receiver Jaylen Waddle during 11-on-11 work, and the leadership was evident immediately. Fitzpatrick led the defensive back group through drills and broke down the huddles.
For more coverage from Dolphins camp, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.
