Dolphins Third Minicamp Practice Observations: Offense Sharp in Red Zone

The Miami Dolphins wrapped up their 2026 minicamp with a practice that was heavy in red zone work Thursday and featured some good work by the offense.

The team periods, in fact, featured nothing but red zone and saw four touchdown passes, three thrown by Malik Willis and the fourth by Quinn Ewers. The recipients were Theo Wease Jr., Terrace Marshall Jr., Malik Washington and Greg Dulcich.

Offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer missed practice after being carted off the field Wednesday, but head coach Jeff Hafley indicated that the injury wasn't expected to be a long-term issue.

Salyer was among the five players not spotted at all Thursday, the others being edge Robert Beal Jr., CB Storm Duck, CB Darrell Baker Jr. and tackle Carter Warren.

Zach Sieler, De'Von Achane, Chris Bell, Tahj Washington again were present but not practicing, and the same went for rookie wide receiver Caleb Douglas. Achane did take part in walk-through at the start (after the stretching period) and end of practice.

Newly signed wide receiver Jalen Reagor was inserted into the team periods for the first time after joining the team Tuesday afternoon, though his practice jersey still doesn't feature his name.

With the minicamp now over, the Dolphins will kick off the last week of the offseason program Monday with the first of three practices. The Dolphins also will work Tuesday and Thursday, with the Tuesday practice the only one of the week open to the media.

Willis and Ewers both looked sharp throwing the ball, though Willis probably had the nicest throw of practice with a dart over the middle to Wease.

The practice once again featured a very long opening stretching period followed by a very long special teams session.

Hafley explained before practice the rationale behind the unusually long stretching periods.

"I think there's some studies now, especially with ACLs, that there's certain exercises, if you do, and protocols that you follow that they've talked to us a lot about," Hafley said. "I think you know it increases our chances not to have those injuries, so I think I know we're taking that very seriously. So, as long as we are stretching, and sometimes it gets frustrating for you and me, because we just want to start practicing, you guys probably want to leave. I think it's really important to do so. That's been very intentional to try to follow those guidelines, so we can, you know, maximize our ability for our players to stay healthy, but it is long, it's very long."

FINAL MINICAMP PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS

-- We again preface everything here by saying that Dolphins reporting rules prevent us from disclosing certain things we observe, such as position changes or who plays with what unit.

-- Since we haven't mentioned the other two quarterbacks recently, let's just say that Cam Miller had a better day than Mark Gronowski, though neither got many opportunities.

-- While the completion percentages were good, most of the completions were underneath

-- With Bell and Douglas sidelined, fellow rookie wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. again made himself noticeable with a couple of catches over the middle.

-- Among the tight ends, Dulcich was the one who easily was the most active.

-- Terrace Marshall Jr. had his most productive day (of those practices open to the media day) highlighted by his nice touchdown catch.

-- Veteran linebacker Ronnie Harrison Jr. concluded a good week of practice with a nice tip in the middle of the end zone on a touch pass from Ewers intended for tight end Ben Sims.

-- Cornerback JuJu Brents didn't make any plays on the ball, but he did a nice job of coming up to meet Willis on a quarterback keeper.

-- There were only a handful of plays where there was pressure on the quarterback, the most noteworthy coming when David Ojabo got around Patrick Paul to get to Willis before he rolled out and hit Malik Washington on the move.

-- Wease and Sims both false-started on the same play, something you never want to see at any time of the year.

-- Willie Gay Jr. got himself into the offensive backfield in a hurry on a toss to rookie running back Anthony Hankerson, who slipped on the play.

-- Cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. had a good day, including a pass breakup on a short attempt to Washington.

-- Rookie safety Louis Moore had a pass breakup on a throw from Gronowski to Seydou Traore, though he later was flagged for defensive holding by the officials on hand.

-- Safety Dante Trader Jr. had an impressive pass breakup when he went up to knock down a pass from Willis intended for Wease in the end zone. Trader later had tight coverage on a Ewers pass to Tutu Atwell that went incomplete in the corner of the end zone.

-- Fullback D.J. Herman, the converted linebacker from San Diego State, made a nice catch over the middle when he reached back to grab a Ewers pass that was thrown behind him.

-- Rookie edge Rodney McGraw got pressure on Miller on the next-to-last play of practice.

Add us as a preferred source on Google