MIAMI GARDENS — Many of the Miami Dolphins’ starters had a light day Monday, mostly because they’ll get lots of work Tuesday and Wednesday in the joint practice with the Atlanta Falcons.
Early in Monday’s practice there was an emphasis on the run game, but it quickly turned to an emphasis on the deep pass. There was also a good amount of work in the red zone.
— Among those not participating in Monday’s practice: WRs Jaylen Waddle and Erik Ezukanma, linebackers Anthony Walker Jr. and Jordyn Brooks, safety Jordan Poyer, and running back Salvon Ahmed.
— Edge rusher Quinton Bell wore the orange jersey as the player of the day from Saturday’s practice, a day in which the pass rush had good success. …
— The first snap of 11-on-11s drills was unexpected and caught QB Skylar Thompson, and the rest of the offense, by surprise. The play was stopped. …
— Thompson hit WR Tyreek Hill on a slant for the first play of 11 on 11. …
— RB Jeff Wilson Jr. was stopped by S Jordan Colbert for a short gain up the middle followed by a stop by LB Zeke Vandenburgh on a middle run by Wilson. …
— There were no referees at Monday’s practice. …
— S Jevon Holland stormed in to record a tackle for loss on a run right by Raheem Mostert. …
— QB Tua Tagovailoa threw short to Hill deep. He had a step on CB Ethan Bonner but the ball hit Bonner in the back. …
— LB Curtis Bolton had a nice stop on rookie RB Jaylen Wright on a run left. Bolton stormed in for the stop. …
— DT Leonard Payne and Bolton had a tackle for loss on Wright. …
— Thompson threw a bullet to WR Braylon Sanders on a slant for a 15-yard gain. Thompson continues to challenge QB Mike White for the No. 2 job. …
— Thompson followed with a nice seam route to WR Anthony Schwartz over the middle. …
— OT Kion Smith and FB Alec Ingold did a great job sealing the edge on a run play left by Wright. Smith might have to battle veteran Kendall Lamm and rookie Patrick Paul to make the 53-man regular-season roster. …
— Tagovailoa completed a 40-yard bomb to Hill over double coverage from CB Storm Duck and Holland. …
— Edge rusher Mo Kamara recorded a sack of White on the final play of the first 11-on-11 segment. …
— CB Kader Kohou broke up a pass for WR Braxton Berrios in the right corner of the end zone thrown by Tagovailoa, who has struggled with that pass in camp. …
— DT Jonathan Harris deflected a Tagovailoa pass near the line of scrimmage on a short pass in the middle. …
— White threw a TD pass to TE Jody Fortson Jr. in the right corner of the end zone. There might have been a false start by Paul. …
— Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips (Achilles) was seen running nearly full speed on the field once again. Phillips appears ready to be activated from the physically-unable-to-perform list. …
— Waddle and Ramsey had a veteran rest day Monday. Ramsey, in his ninth season, hadn’t had a day off yet. DL Zach Sieler, who is in his seventh season, is probably the only Dolphins starter with six or more years of experience that hasn’t had an off day. …
— LT Terron Armstead participated through individual drills but not 11-on-11 drills. Armstead hasn’t yet done 11-on-11 drills this camp. …
— LB David Long Jr., in his sixth season, appears to be on a limited work schedule. He was wearing a sleeve on his left leg Monday and didn’t participate in all individual drills. …
— CB Kendall Fuller also didn’t fully participate in individual drills. Fuller, in his ninth season, has been on a limited work schedule. …
— The Dolphins were in helmets, shorts and shells (small shoulder pads) Monday. …
— WR River Cracraft returned to practice with a sleeve on his right leg. Cracraft, right now, will be on the 53-man roster due to his blocking, receiving and special teams play. …
— Ahmed was seen riding the stationary bike. He still has a protective boot on his left foot. …
— CB Cam Smith, who did individual drills, went inside for the first round of 11-on-11 drills. …
— Schwartz dropped a high pass from White with LB Grayson Murphy trailing in coverage. The pass hit Schwartz on the facemask and he had to turn and adjust to make the play. It would have been a tough catch, but it’s a catch you must make when trying to make roster. …
— Kamara had a sack against Thompson. Paul would have been called for holding. Paul has been learning but might not yet be a threat to unseat Lamm as the primary backup OT. …
— Schwartz only got one foot inbounds on a deep throw from Thompson. The pass led Schwartz out of bounds so that play goes more on Thompson. …
— OG Robert Jones had a nice block on rookie edge rusher Chop Robinson on a pass play. Jones has had a solid camp. …
— CB Jason Maitre had a nice pass break up against Hill on a deep pass from Tagovailoa. …
— Bonner finished the second round of 11-on-11s by stripping Hill on a pass across the middle. That was one play after the Maitre PBU.
— DT Teair Tart had a sack in the final 11-on-11 segment. The interior DL has had a fairly quiet training camp.
— Long had a PBU against WR Malik Washington in the end zone on the final play of an 11-on-11 in the red zone.
Stock up: Pass defense
The pass rush and the secondary did good things on a day in which the Dolphins seemed to emphasize the deep throws. CBs Kohu, Maitre and Bonner made notable plays, and Kamara led an aggressive pass rush.
Stock down: Mike White
Let’s not overplay this, but Thompson seems to be making a move. He seems to be getting more repetitions and more significant repetitions. In fairness, neither Thompson nor White has seemed markedly better than they were last season, but Thompson seems to be faring better for the No. 2 QB spot.
