Dolphins Notebook: Minicamp Preview, Media Day, Marino on Tua, and More
The Miami Dolphins will wrap up their offseason program this week with the three-day minicamp, which kicks off Tuesday.
Based on the OTAs that were open to the media, the biggest storylines of training camp just might well be whether every player on the roster shows up.
Cornerback Xavien Howard and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah are the only two players who were not in attendance for any of the OTAs open to the media, though head coach Brian Flores said last week he expected every player to be at minicamp.
Ogbah's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said during his regular appearance on local television Sunday night that he's approached the Dolphins requesting a contract extension but that Ogbah would be at minicamp.
When it comes to on-the-field work, we'd love to tell you we're going to get some answers during minicamp, but if the practices are like anything we saw during the open OTAs, that might be stretching the point.
If there is legitimate on-field competition, even so much as full-speed one-on-one battles between cornerbacks and wide receivers, it would be interesting to see first-round pick Jaylen Waddle in action.
Any sort of 11-on-11 work at a faster pace than a walk-through also could provide some sort of glimpse as to the kind of progress Tua Tagovailoa indeed has made since the end of his rookie season.
But the open OTAs were dramatically more tutorial than they have been in the past, so it's difficult to anticipate there'll be a lot of action during minicamp.
Media Day
Before they began that minicamp, the Dolphins were busy Monday with their Media Day, which is when the players pose for photos and videos to be used for promotional purposes (such as TV intros) throughout the regular season.
It's a time when players get to let loose a little bit in front of the camera, as evidenced by some of the shots released by the Dolphins' social media team.
And, yes, for those wondering, the Dolphins showed Tua's photo shoot.
Marino on Tua
We'd be remiss if we didn't pass along the comments made by Dan Marino regarding Tua Tagovailoa during a lengthy conversation with ESPN.
"He's been great," Marino told ESPN's Cameron Wolfe. "He's been awesome. He has all the talent in the world. Now it's just about him developing the relationship with the other players. It's been tough because he didn't have OTAs last year, a lot of the summer camp or the chance to play in exhibition games. All those things delay you somewhat. I'll tell you, he works his butt off. I'm really excited about him, his future and our future as a team."
Marino serves as special advisor to Vice Chairman/President/CEO Tom Garfinkel. He believes the best is yet to come for Tua.
"He wants to be really good," Marino told ESPN. "And in time, he's going to get there because that's what type of kid he is."
Catching Up with Former Coaches
Two members of Adam Gase's coaching staff with the Dolphins who became unemployed after Gase was fired by the New York Jets have new jobs.
Before that, Bo Hardegree, who was quarterbacks coach in Miami under Gase, was hired as an offensive assistant by the New England Patriots.
