Thursday Dolphins Notebook: Tua Shines, OTA Week 1 in the Books, Lindsay Lands, and More
The Miami Dolphins were back at practice Thursday, and it was quarterback Tua Tagovailoa who was wearing the orange jersey.
That means that it was Tagovailoa who the coaches decided was the practice player of the day Tuesday because the Dolphins didn't practice Wednesday.
Along with wearing the ceremonial orange jersey, Tagovailoa got to choose the music that was played during practice.
FIRST WEEK OF OTAs DONE
The media didn't get to hear Tagovailoa's selections because the OTA was closed, as was the case Monday.
The session was the last of the week, with three more weeks to go in the offseason program.
There will be three more OTAs next week, with the same schedule of Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
That will be followed by the two-day mandatory minicamp June 1-2 and finally four days of OTAs the week of June 6 when the current schedule calls for a practice every day except Wednesday.
TWO DOLPHINS EMPLOYEES INVITED TO "ACCELERATOR"
The NFL announced Thursday the list of minority and female employees invited to take part in the inaugural Coach and Front Office Accelerator on May 23-24 at the Spring League Meeting in Atlanta.
The Accelerator will convene more than 60 diverse head coach and general manager prospects from all clubs and the League with ownership representation from all 32 clubs.
The program will provide senior women and minority prospects with leadership development sessions with football operations experts and facilitators, as well as time spent networking directly with club owners. The effort is designed to continue building a diverse hiring pipeline for future head coach and general manager positions throughout the League.
Each club nominated rising prospects to participate in the two-day Accelerator. In addition to leadership development and sessions on the business of football, attendees will engage in candid discussions on how to take the next step in becoming a coach or front office executive.
The two men the Dolphins nominated for the networking event were Assistant General Manager Marvin Allen and new assistant head coach/tight ends coach Jon Embree.
Among others participating in the event are former Dolphins assistant coaches Vance Joseph, Renaldo Hill and Jeff Nixon, as well as former front office employee Eric Stokes.
GESICKI FIRES UP PANTHERS CROWD
Tight end Mike Gesicki has been a regular at Florida Panthers playoff games this month, and he was there again Thursday night for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Not only that, Gesicki fired up the crowd before the game, banging on an oversized drum before chants of, "Let's go, Panthers!"
Gesicki also attended Game 2 and Game 5 of the Panthers' first-round series against the Washington Capitals.
FORMER DOLPHINS NEWS
Running back Phillip Lindsay, who ended last season with the Dolphins, has found his new team in free agency as he signed with the Indianapolis Colts.
That makes two of the three veteran running backs the Dolphins brought in last year with new teams, with Duke Johnson signing earlier with the Buffalo Bills.
Malcolm Brown, who signed a one-year deal with Miami as an unrestricted free agent in 2021, is still looking for a team.
