Albert Wilson updates status. And Dolphins going with completely new group in this area
Dolphins receiver Albert Wilson was a virtual dynamo during the first 10 days of camp, looking like an NFL All-Pro. After missing nearly three weeks with an undisclosed injury, he’s back, ready to pick up where he left off.
“I’m ready to go, feel great,” he said Thursday.
His teammates see signs of the 2018 version that was so explosive.
“You can tell he’s invested in himself and working extremely hard for this opportunity,” tight end Mike Gesicki said. “You saw in training camp, the speed and ability to make plays downfield and catch and run, similar to how he was in 2018 when you saw that burst.”
Wilson, who sat out last season to protect his family from COVID-19, wasn’t a certainty to make team before camp started.
“I knew if I had an opportunity to make this team I was going to make this team,” he said. “The year off helped me build up mentally and physically. [Skipping a season] made me realize how much I love football and how much I love playing for the Dolphins.”
Wilson is excited to see what Jaylen Waddle and Will Fuller will add to the offense. Fuller “is special,” Wilson said. “When we get him back [after a Week 1 suspension], we’re going to take another step. We’re real tight [in the receiver room].
“Most of us have been around each other for a couple years. Jaylen is tagging along like a little brother. Will is just trying to find a new home; we embraced him.”
ROSTER MOVES
The Dolphins completed their practice squad by signing three players who were cut earlier this week (defensive end Jason Strowbridge, center Cameron Tom and cornerback Tino Ellis) and adding two new players: Fayetteville State undrafted rookie offensive tackle Kion Smith (who was cut by Atlanta this week) and former Florida Gators receiver Brandon Powell, who was released by the Bills this week after spending the offseason program with them.
Powell, 5-8, attended Deerfield Beach High and has 23 catches for 198 yards and two touchdowns in 21 games (and two starts) for the Lions (2018) and Falcons (2020). He went undrafted in 2018.
▪ Right tackle Liam Eichenberg and tight end Adam Shaheen missed practice with lower-body injuries that have left their status for Game 1 in question.... Jevon Holland switched from jersey number 22 to 8, his number at Oregon.
▪ Two more examples of the extra work that Tua Tagovailoa is putting in: He has worked to cultivate a relationship with new center Michael Deiter by playing golf with him. And Tagovailoa and Gesicki spend time together during every Dolphins practice special teams session “to get couple extra reps, get that chemistry down,” Gesicki said.
▪ The Dolphins have begun preparing for Patriots quarterback Mac Jones, the rookie from Alabama, in advance of the Miami-New England opener on Sept. 12.
Besides preseason film, “I will go back and watch college tape, see what he struggles at and what he’s good at,” defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah said. “I take everybody seriously. He’s a good player, first round pick.”
LINE CHANGES
If you predicted — on the eve of training camp — that the Dolphins’ backup offensive line would be Eichenberg, Greg Little, Greg Mancz and Robert Jones, your friends would have laughed you out of the room.
Of course, two of those players (Little and Mancz) weren’t even with the team when camp started July 28.
And in a bit of an oddity, while every Dolphins starter on the offensive line is a returning member of the team, none of the backups has ever played a regular-season snap for Miami.
After trading a 2022 third-round pick to the Giants to move up eight spots to draft him in April, the Dolphins anticipated Eichenberg would be a starter before determining that Solomon Kindley was the better option at left guard and Jesse Davis the better option at right tackle.
Mancz, acquired from Baltimore last weekend, assuredly will be active on game days. He didn’t practice a single time with the team before roster cuts but nevertheless beat out Matt Skura and Tom — two players who had been here since June — for the backup center job.
Mancz has 28 NFL starts in five seasons with Houston.
“We’re excited to get Greg,” Brian Flores said. “We’ve watched a lot of tape on him. He has versatility to play center or guard. Tough, competitive. From what I’ve heard from people I have good connections with, there’s some leadership there with him as well.”
Mancz said Dolphins co-offensive coordinator George Godsey “taught me a lot about football” when Godsey coached him in Houston, where Godsey was a former offensive coordinator.
“I consider myself very fortunate [to be here],” said Mancz, who has a master’s degree in public administration and leadership at Toledo. “I’m very excited.”
Little struggled in two years at Carolina (including nine starts) but played well in the Cincinnati preseason finale.
Little, acquired from Carolina during training camp, said he’s “cramming” the playbook and he can help “a lot. Bringing good energy to the room is a big thing.”
If the Dolphins lose left tackle Austin Jackson or Davis to an injury, the Dolphins could insert Little or Eichenberg or move Robert Hunt back from right guard from tackle — though that wouldn’t be their preference.
The fact Eichenberg spent two weeks at guard in training camp — after never playing a game at that position in Notre Dame — should make him more valuable on game days.
The Dolphins initially thought they would have a veteran group of backup linemen — D.J. Fluker, Jermaine Eluemunor and Skura — but ultimately released all of them.
BIG-PICTURE VIEW
Dolphins tight end Durham Smythe said the Dolphins’ roster is “so deep really across the board. I’m confident that whoever goes down at any position really, this year you have another starter-caliber guy that can jump right in.
“The way this roster has been built, really from the beginning, there’s guys that can really fly, guys that can make contested catches and guys that do a little bit of both,” Smythe said.
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 2:55 PM.
