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Dolphins 2025 Camp: Jacksonville Joint Practice Recap

Miami Dolphins WR Dee Eskridge
Miami Dolphins WR Dee Eskridge | Alain Poupart - Miami Dolphins On SI

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The Miami Dolphins conducted their fourth and final joint practice of the summer Thursday, and it also happened to be their final practice of training camp.

There didn't appear to be a clear winner between the Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars in the work at the Baptist Health Training Complex because both defenses appeared to have the upper hand despite a couple of nice throws by Tua Tagovailoa.

The biggest immediate takeaway for the Dolphins unfortunately was the concern over three players who were injured during practice, a list highlighted by linebacker Jordyn Brooks. The other two were running back Jaylen Wright and rookie wide receiver A.J. Henning.

Brooks not only is a starter on a defense that will have to deliver for the Dolphins to return to the playoffs, but also one of its clear leaders. He was injured late in practice during an 11-on-11 session on the near field when he was part of a group putting pressure on quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Brooks watched the end of practice standing behind the line of scrimmage.

Wright and Henning both left the practice field to head inside accompanied by a trainer, and Henning specifically left on crutches in the direction of the on-site Baptist Health Medical Center.

Henning already was a long shot to make the 53-man roster, but Wright was expected to play a big role in his second season in the NFL and now the Dolphins are dealing with having to monitor injuries to the top two running backs on their. roster, De'Von Achane obviously being the other.

Despite Mike McDaniel saying before practice that tight end Darren Waller would be more involved in practice after basically doing nothing beyond stretching Wednesday after he was activated off PUP, he again didn't participate in any competitive situation, whether one-on-ones or team periods.

The list of players who didn't practice again was led by Achane and Tyreek Hill, and also included DT Kenneth Grant, S Ashtyn Davis, T Austin Jackson, T Bayron Matos, CB Kendall Sheffield and CB Ethan Bonner.

The teams again practiced for a solid two hours and now will see each other again for their preseason matchup at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

-- The fans in attendance for their last practice look at the Dolphins this year — every practice from now on will be closed to the media and fans — didn't get the chance to see Jacksonville rookie Travis Hunter, who again was limited to individual work.

-- Quinn Ewers did not take any reps during team periods, which should put to rest (it should have been done already) the notion he could push Zach Wilson for the backup job behind Tua Tagovailoa.

-- By far the highlight of the one-on-one battles was watching Dolphins second-year tackle Patrick Paul go up against Josh Hines-Allen, one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. We spotted three reps, with Paul putting Hines-Allen on the ground on the first, Hines-Allen getting by him on the second, and the third one possibly a stalemate or a holding penalty on Paul.

-- Tempers got hot a couple of times, though we'd use the term "flare-ups" instead of fights or brawls. They both happened on the far side of the field (from the fans and media perspective) and it appeared Jack Jones Jr. was involved in both of them.

-- Among the players who appeared to stand out, we'd probably start with OLB Quinton Bell and WR Dee Eskridge.

PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS

-- The special teams period generally are pretty uneventful, but we have to note linebacker Dequan Jackson blocking a Jacksonville punt.

-- Zach Wilson had a nice touchdown pass in the red zone drill to rookie Theo Wease Jr., who made quite a few plays in camp with Ewers.

-- There weren't many highlights on running plays for the Dolphins, but before he left Wright got a nice hole up the middle for a 5-yard touchdown.

-- Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick got an easy interception against Trevor Lawrence, which appeared to come as the result of a miscommunication between the quarterback and his intended receiver.

-- Jones may or may not have come down with another interception, and the only question is that Zach Sieler probably would have had a sack before the quarterback threw the ball (the play was allowed to continue in a practice setting).

-- Wilson had a rough two-play sequence with another failed rollout when he couldn't get the ball to Tanner Conner, followed by a collision in the backfield when he tried to hand off to Aaron Shampklin. On the latter, it's difficult to detect who was at fault.

-- Wilson later was sacked by a Jacksonville edge defender, none other than former Dolphins starter Emmanuel Ogbah.

-- Rookie cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. continues his fine work, highlighted by a pass breakup on a long attempt from Lawrence to wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.

-- Wilson had a long completion to rookie Andrew Armstrong, but that was all Armstrong as he came back to catch a badly underthrown ball against two Jaguars defenders.

-- Tua attempted to connect with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine a couple of times, but their timing/connection was off, not the first time we've seen this in training camp.

-- The Dolphins twice attempted a no-look flip on an end-around to Eskridge and it flopped both times because of heavy penetration by Jacksonville defenders. There even was a fumble on the second.

-- The Dolphins had their issues blocking Josh Hines-Allen in team periods.

-- Ollie Gordon had some solid plays on offense, but he had a negative play on defense when he let a kickoff roll between his legs.

-- Tight end Pharaoh Brown fumbled after catching a short pass, though he was able to recover the loose ball.

-- Tua hooked up with Jaylen Waddle on their traditional quick slant and Tua had his highlight throw of the day — maybe of camp — when he threw a dart to Eskridge over the middle that got to him the second he turned his head to look at the ball.

-- That said, the first-team offense struggled in that final period because the Eskridge completion was accompanied by a check-down to Alec Ingold and five incompletions.

-- On Jacksonville's final drive, Zach Sieler batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage and Bradley Chubb did the same a couple of plays later, though the Jaguars already had been flagged for an illegal shift.

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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