Miami Dolphins Open OTA Observations
The media got their first look at a full Miami Dolphins practice this offseason Tuesday, and maybe what stood out was the almost perfect attendance.
Only four players weren’t spotted, one of whom was cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who still is expected to be traded sooner rather than later. The other two players absent were tight end Jonnu Smith, new guard James Daniels and 2024 team MVP Zach Sieler.
Daniels’ absence likely is related to the fact he’s recovering from an Achilles that cut short his 2024 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Regardless, the attendance was quite a contract from the first open (to the media) OTA last year when the number of missing front-line players, including Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, reached double figures.
Two non-quarterbacks wore red jerseys symbolic of a player dealing with an injury, offensive lineman Kion Smith and wide receiver Tahj Washington. Both players spent the entire 2024 season on injured reserve.
Cornerback Storm Duck wore the orange jersey as the practice player of the day for Tuesday.
— We preface everything here by saying that Dolphins reporting rules prevent us from disclosing certain things we observe, such as position changes or who plays with what unit.
— The 7-on-7 work started with Kader Kohou clamping down Jaylen Waddle on a throw from Tua Tagovailoa to force an incompletion.
— Quinn Ewers had a pretty touch throw down the field over rookie WR Monaray Baldwin couldn’t come down with a catchable but difficult reception.
— Dee Eskridge made a spectacular one-handed catch with his left hand on a roll-out throw from Zach Wilson, the kind we’ve seen him make in Dophins-released videos during the offseason program.
— Tagovailoa had a nice completion downfield to Waddle in 11-on-11 work.
— Defensive lineman Matt Dickerson had what would have been a tackle for loss on a running play.
— Tanner Conner, who caught a pass during 7-on-7 work, looks considerably bigger than he did in previous seasons.
— The longest completion came when Tua hit Waddle over the top after he got behind cornerback Cam Smith, who appeared to pull up a bit lame after the play. After several plays on the sideline, Smith was back on the field.
— Malik Washington made a nice low catch on a short sideline pass to Wilson.
— Linebacker Cameron Goode broke up a pass in 7-on-7 drills
— Outside linebacker Bradley Chubb did some work in 11-on-11 drills, but Jaelan Phillips did not. Chubb got to Wilson immediately after a fake handoff (though obviously stopped before hitting the quarterback). Chubb got to Wilson again later, though he technically more pushed Ryan Hayes back into the quarterback.
