Another Dolphins rookie injured. And Flores addresses Phillips, issues, Bears practice
For the second time in three days, a high Miami Dolphins draft pick has been sidelined by an injury.
Per a league source, guard Liam Eichenberg has a shoulder injury. That’s why he was removed after struggling against the Bears in Wednesday’s practice.
Solomon Kindley replaced him as the first team left guard and was back in that role to start Thursday’s practice.
Eichenberg “got banged up a little bit so we pulled him,” Brian Flores said Thursday. “It’s day to day. He’s already working to get back. He’s done a good job for us so far. Kind of get over this and hopefully get him back as soon as we can.”
It’s a setback for Eichenberg, because offensive line coach Lemuel Jeanpierre said he hoped to use these practices in Chicago -- and Saturday’s game -- to determine if he’s best at guard or should go back to right tackle, where he began camp.
Receivers Will Fuller, DeVante Parker and Albert Wilson; safety Brandon Jones and tight end Hunter Long all remain out.
Flores said Jaelan Phillips is being “ramped back up” after missing 10 days “for a lot of reasons - conditioning purposes. He’s just not ready yet, hasn’t had enough snaps. That’s generally how teams do it.
“Jaelan had some good snaps yesterday; hopefully will have a few more today. Hopefully we’ll build off of yesterday and ramp him up over the course of days, weeks, etc.”
Flores addressed other issues:
▪ On rookie safety Jevon Holland, who has three turnovers and a takeaway: “He’s doing a lot of good things from a fundamentals standpoint. He’s a hard working kid. I don’t judge people off of three or four plays. He’s had 500 plays over training camp; not going to judge them on four of them, good or bad.”
▪ On linebacker Benardrick McKinney: “Tough, physical, downhill player, smart, good communicator, done some good things. He’s gotten better over the course of training camp.”
▪ Flores said the Dolphins’ defensive linemen “did some good things” in Wednesday’s practice. But...
“In some instances they were good, in some instances they were not good. The results normally play out the way you think they would when they’re good or not good. We made a lot of lot of corrections yesterday. It’s good to see different skill sets [from opponents]. It’s good for us. We need that.”
He said he’s “excited to get another good day against a good team. Thrilled to have all those guys working on the communication, fundamentals and technique.”
▪ The pressure from the Bears’ defensive front - which was disruptive on Wednesday -“is great for us to see that, feel that,” Flores said. “We practiced against some of that yesterday. It’s a good front. So that’s how it goes in this league. It’s good for our offensive line to see. It’s the speed and power you see on a daily basis.
“The tempo was really good. We’re trying to keep all the guys healthy. That’s the conversation I’ve had with [Bears coach] Matt Nagy. We’re trying to get better, compete.”
Flores said he has spoken with Bears players in a good natured way.
▪ Flores, on the minor altercation on Wednesday between Dolphins receiver Allen Hurns and Bears cornerback Teez Tabor: “It’s chippy. That’s football. Hopefully it’s a learning tool. I had to use a time out when we good forget about the play, move on and keep our poise in that situation.”
This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 10:11 AM.
