Miami Dolphins Training Camp Practice 12 Observations: Chop Chopping Again, Miller Time

The Miami Dolphins returned to practice at the Baptist Health Training Complex on Monday, and the biggest takeaway was the summer debut of rookie wide receiver Chris Bell.

As should have been expected on Bell's first day, his work was limited to individual drills and did not include any team periods. Bell wore a no-contact red jersey in his first practice after spending all of training camp to. that point on the Non-Football Injury list.

Other players who took part in individual drills but not team periods on this day were DB Dante Trader Jr. and WR Kevin Coleman Jr., who both returned to practice after missing time.

Those players who didn't practice but were spotted at the Baptist Health Training Complex were QB Quinn Ewers, DT Zach Sieler, DT Kenneth Grant, CB JuJu Brents and TE Ben Sims. Grant, the Dolphins' first-round pick in 2025, played 10 defensive snaps in the preseason opener at Washington on Friday night.

Players who were not spotted at all were linebacker Jordyn Brooks, linebacker Ronnie Harrison Jr., edge Clelin Ferrell and edge Mason Rieger.

Rookie wide receiver Caleb Douglas missed some plays after walking with a trainer over to an area usually designed to help players dealing with hydration issues.

The chippiness showed up during the one-on-ones that preceded team periods, and it began when rookie seventh-round pick Max Llewellyn threw his hand on rookie sixth-round pick D.J. Campbell's face twice after being stonewalled.

The team periods ended with the first two offensive groups getting the ball around midfield with under a minute left and needing a touchdown.

The group quarterbacked by Malik Willis turned the ball over on downs, but the practice ended with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Cam Miller to wide receiver Tahj Washington.

Quarterback Mark Gronowski and linebacker Cam Riley practiced after being signed by the Dolphins on Sunday — in Gronowski's case, being re-signed.

The Dolphins will conduct practice at the Baptist Health Training Complex in front of season ticket members Tuesday when they return to practice.

THE WILLIS WATCH

The first-team offense had a pretty uneven day, with Willis completing 6 of 14 passes, including incompletions on each of his final four passes.

The caveat there was that Willis was under pressure on some of those throws.

Willis' best throw was an absolute pill over the middle to split defenders and make a completion to Douglas.

PLAYER OF THE DAY

The easy answer here is Chop Robinson.

The third-year edge continued his impressive (borderline spectacular) training camp showing by constantly getting around the edge, whether against Austin Jackson or when the Dolphins had tight end Greg Dulcich try blocking him.

While sacks in practice are highly subjective — some reporters are way more generous in handing them out than others — we had Robinson with two sacks and another pressure that forced an incompletion.

PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

-- With Ewers sidelined, Cam Miller got his chance with the second unit and had overall a solid outing, highlighted by his pretty downfield completion to Washington on the final play. Before that, Miller had a deep completion down the middle of the field to A.J. Henning with no DB between him and the end zone for what might have been a touchdown around 70-75 yards.

-- If Robinson was the player of the day, then tight end Greg Dulcich probably was at the other end. In addition to his issues trying to block Robinson, he dropped a pass near the sideline.

-- Guard Jonah Savaiinaea, who had himself a very good preseason performance against the Commanders, had a highlight block when he ended up putting defensive tackle Jordan Phillips

-- Dulcich did have a positive play with a catch down the middle from Willis, though the highlight of the play was the battle at the line between Robinson and rookie tight end Will Kacmarek. This was a great pass protection job by Kacmarek, though it also was awfully close to being something that might get called for holding in a game (there were no officials at practice Monday).

-- Safety Lonnie Johnson had a nice pass breakup near the sideline on a long throw from Miller intended for Jalen Reagor, though Miller took too long to get the ball there.

-- Rookie Michael Taaffe was able to strip the ball away from Douglas near the sideline to break up an apparent completion, and this looked more like a bad offensive play than a Taaffe win.

-- Chris Johnson had really good coverage down the field against Tutu Atwell on a play where Willis threw low and away near the sideline.

-- Likewise, cornerback Marco Wilson had good coverage on a deep sideline throw to Terrace Marshall Jr., though it didn't look like a very crisp route.

-- Gronowski didn't have any memorable throws on this day, but did show nifty scrambling on back-to-back plays.

-- Willie Gay Jr. was right there to meet Willis at the line on a QB keeper.

-- Dolphins receivers showed no ability to make tough catches on high throws on this day, with Jalen Tolbert being one example on a pass from Miller.

-- DT Keith Cooper Jr., who has looked good in recent days, had a good stick on RB Carlos Washington Jr. on a running play.

-- On the play before Miller's touchdown pass to Tahj Washington, Ollie Gordon II dropped an easy pass over the middle.

Add us as a preferred source on Google