The Dolphins Week That Was ... And The Week Ahead
The Miami Dolphins have wrapped up their second week of Phase Two of the offseason program with more on-field workouts with certain limitations, such as no offense vs. defense drills.
The practices (workouts, if you prefer) again were closed to the media, though there wouldn't be much to be learned from them regardless. In fact, it could be argued that what happened off the field was of more consequence as we look back at the week that was and look ahead at the week that will be.
Dolphins Check Out Other Sports
The inaugural Formula One Miami Grand Prix took place on the grounds of Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, so it was no big surprise that Dolphins players checked out the scene during the week and mingled with stars from another sport.
The Dolphins social media team even posted a clip of Jaelan Phillips and Christian Wilkins helping change a tire — auto racing style — late in the week.
Wilkins also was front and center Thursday night when a group of Dolphins players attended Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs series between the Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals at FLA Live Arena.
After Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Deiter were shown on the giant video scoreboard, it was Wilkins' turn. And in true Christian Wilkins fashion, he lifted his Panthers jersey to reveal his bare stomach to get the crowd going.
Other Dolphins players on hand included Mike Gesicki, Durham Smythe (of course the two would be there together, Zach Sieler, Jason Sanders, Connor Williams, Hunter Long and Andrew Van Ginkel.
The Panthers currently trail the series two games to one, and the Dolphins player got to witness their one victory, a 5-1 decision.
Along with being out publicly supporting another South Florida team, this kind of thing is positive for team-building purposes.
Exploring a Michel Move
From a pure football standpoint, the biggest news of the week clearly was the reported free agent visit of former first-round pick Sony Michel.
The former New England Patriots starter, who last season helped the L.A. Rams win the Super Bowl, reportedly added a visit to the New Orleans Saints by the end of the week.
Michel became the fifth well-known player to either visit the Dolphins or have his agent engaged in discussions since the first wave of free agency. The others were edge defenders Melvin Ingram and Carlos Dunlap, defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, and linebacker Reuben Foster.
In Other Dolphins News ...
-- The NFLPA announced its top 50 players in terms of sales of officially licenses NFL player products and merchandise, and one Dolphins player was on the list: quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. He came in at number 39. Tua, however, came in the top in terms of collegiate co-branded drinkware from GameTime Sidekicks for his Alabama 20-ounce tumbler.
-- The Dolphins will travel the fourth-most miles among NFL teams in 2022, according to a study done by Bill Speros of bookies.com. Thanks to road games against the Los Angeles Chargers and San Francisco 49ers, the Dolphins will travel 25,178 miles in 2022 (distances from stadium to stadium), trailing only the Seattle Seahawks (29,446), Denver Broncos (27,398) and Jacksonville Jaguars (25,534).
-- The Dolphins lost one of their area scouts when Lenny McGill was hired as senior national scout. McGill had been with the Dolphins since 2015.
The Week Ahead
-- The Dolphins will wrap up Phase Two of the offseason program with another week of practice with limits. That will set the stage for Phase Three and the OTAs, not to mention the mandatory minicamp June 1-2.
