Dolphins live practice blog: One key player dressed, others not. And many highlights
We’re continuing to do live Dolphins practice blogs. Saturday marks practice number nine. Here’s what happened in a practice that resembled a scrimmage:
12:25 p.m.: Jaylen Waddle jumped for a brilliant 25-yard catch from Tua Tagovailoa. Then Tagovailoa threw a 30-yard pass to Mack Hollins, who caught it with one hand. Hollins is making a strong case for a roster spot..
Jason McCourty, working at cornerback, then knocked away a pass intended for Jakeem Grant...
Jason Sanders is 7 for 7 on field goals today, including a 49-yarder.
12:20 p.m.: Benito Jones knocked down Reid Sinnett’s pass and it was intercepted by Sam Eguavoen on the deflection...
Eguavoen then got good pressure on Sinnett on a subsequent play...
Terrell Bonds had good coverage on a Sinnett pass.
12:15 p.m.: Tua Tagovailoa had a nice 10-yard run after being flushed from the pocket by Emmanuel Ogbah....
Myles Gaskin continues to look very good in the passing game, converting short catches into longer plays....
Mack Hollins caught a long TD pass from Tagovailoa on a ball misplayed by Byron Jones. The play looked like the long completion from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Hollins late in the late-season win at Las Vegas.
Vince Biegel and Brennan Scarlett are the first team outside linebackers/edge players - with defensive end Ogbah - in the injury absence of Jaelan Phillips and Andrew Van Ginkel....
Tua ran into the end zone from three yards out for a TD, but we’re not permitted to reveal the scheme....
Then, as red zone drills continued, Durham Smythe extended his body to catch a 3-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa.
12:20 p.m.: Jacoby Brissett led the second team offense on a long drive but it was ended before a natural conclusion (such as fourth down stop or TD).
Second-team defense included Christian Wilkins, Adam Butler and Tyshun Render or Jason Strowbridge on the line; Duke Riley and Calvin Munson and Sam Eguavoen at linebacker; Clayton Fejedelem at safety (Brandon Jones limped off) and Cre’Von LeLanc and Nick Needham at safety.
11:50: Safety Brandon Jones left practice and walked into the facility under his own power with what appeared to be a lower body injury, possibly an ankle. Jones has had an even camp.
Offensive lineman Adam Pankey also sustained an injury (looked like a hand) but remained on the field.
11:30: Tua Tagovailoa threw identical TD passes in the corner of the end zone to Jakeem Grant and DeVante Parker in 7 on 7 drills. Byron Jones was in coverage on the Parker throw. On both plays, Eric Rowe was late in coverage...
Benardrick McKinney made a strong play to stop Myles Gaskin for a short gain on a rushing attempt...
Tagovailoa delivered a nice intermediate dart to Jakeem Grant on consecutive plays. Grant took the second one for a long gain.
Then Tua threw a 30-yard pass to Albert Wilson. Tagovailoa has been very sharp again on Saturday.
But Byron Jones broke up Tua’s deep sidelined pass to Parker.
During a simultaneous session on the other field, Isaiah Ford rose above double coverage to catch a deep pass from Jacoby Brissett. Ford has had an excellent camp.
11:15: Jaylen Waddle has a compression sleeve on his right leg but he’s running fine. And he insists he’s fully healthy after a major ankle sustained in an Alabama-Tennessee game last October.
As for a report that he’s limping, a colleague showed us video of the way Waddle walks before he was injured at Tennessee last year. This is simply his gait, folks. He walked with what could be perceived as a limp before that ankle injury and now too.
Though there is something of a limp, he participated in all of Saturday’s practice.
11:10 a.m.: When Xavien Howard joined team drills opposite Byron Jones, the second team corners were Nik Needham and Javaris Davis. Noah Igbinoghene is on the third team - which is disappointing for a former first-round pick.
Running back Salvon Ahmed, who was dealing with a lower-body bruise, is out of his red non-contact jersey and practicing fully.
11:05 a.m.: For the fourth time in the past five practices, Christian Wilkins isn’t playing with the starters. The first-team line is Emmanuel Ogbah, Raekwon Davis and Zach Sieler. Wilkins downplayed that this week.
11 a.m.: For the sixth practice in a row, the Dolphins are going with the same offensive line: Austin Jackson at left tackle, Liam Eichenberg at left guard, Michael Deiter at center, Rob Hunt at right guard and Jesse Davis at right tackle.
Deiter, Jackson and Hunt have been first team all nine practices.
Solomon Kindley, a 13-game starter at guard last season, is with the second team.
10:55 a.m.: Jevon Holland is with the first team at free safety for the second time in camp. Jason McCourty was the first team free safety for the first week.
Noah Igbinoghene, who has struggled in camp, is on the third team.
10:50 a.m.: Running back Jordan Scarlett walked off the field with a trainer and wasn’t a participant in practice.
10:40 a.m.: Xavien Howard, who hasn’t participated in a practice since the first day of camp because of an ankle injury, is dressed for practice and taking some team reps.
McCourty opened as the starting cornerback opposite Byron Jones in team drills but Howard will obviously be in that spot when fully healthy.
But Will Fuller and Jaelan Phillips remain out. Andrew Van Ginkel is here but remains sidelined by an injury that caused him to walk with a slight limp last week. Running back Malcolm Brown also missed a third practice in a row with an undisclosed injury.
Mike Gesicki and Preston Williams remain on the COVID 19 list.
This story was originally published August 7, 2021 at 10:38 AM with the headline "Dolphins live practice blog: One key player dressed, others not. And many highlights."
