Camp just started. But time is already running out for many young Miami Dolphins

There are 21 rookies currently on the Dolphins roster.

There are 12 more who are considered first-year players because they do not have an accrued NFL season.

The Dolphins still employ six guys from the defunct AAF, plus Sam Eguavoen, signed out of the CFL.

All told, one-third of their roster is basically new to the league, with very little if any NFL tape on their resume.

To make the team — and for sure, opportunities abound on this rebuilding roster — these young players don’t have to be good in practice. They have to be excellent.

And just seven practices into training camp, time is actually running short.

Yes, cutdown day is still four weeks off. The scrimmage and all four preseason games remain.

But remember, most of these guys have been with the team since early May, if not earlier.

Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians estimated earlier this week that rookies have gotten roughly 500 practice reps since the start of the offseason program, and — according to the Athletic — said, “If you can’t show me in 500 plays, you can’t show me.”

Does Dolphins coach Brian Flores agree? Mostly.

“I think until you play a game and you see them in that setting, you think you know or you have a good idea; but you just — the evaluation’s ongoing. I would say that.

“Am I 95 percent sure? Yeah,” Flores continued. “Have I been proven wrong before? Yeah. I think every coach has. So we’ll see how it goes. I think that’s part of going through what I think should be a fair process, which is meetings, walk-through, practice, practice some more, practice in pads, practice the situations, then go out in the game and see who does what.

“Some guys, the lights come on, all of the stuff you saw in practice, they go into survival mode, and then they can’t play. We’re looking for that on both sides — guys who are gamers and guys who show up in practice and then don’t show up in the games. We need to make sure we’re right there.”

In other words, if you’re a young Dolphins player unsure about your place on the team, you better be a star when the preseason starts in a week.

This story was originally published August 1, 2019 at 3:43 PM.