Dolphins 2023 Camp: August 3 Practice Observations

Highlights, lowlights and observations from the seventh practice (day 9) of Miami Dolphins training camp Thursday:

-- The Dolphins were back at practice after having a day off, and we saw officials for the first time in training camp. Unfortunately, we also saw a lot of flags and perhaps the story of the day involved a slew of pre-snap penalties. Our tally for those ended up a five

-- For a second consecutive practice, injured cornerback Jalen Ramsey showed up on the field with his crutches.

-- Linebacker Bradley Chubb was seen shaking his right arm after a play in team drills late in the practice and stayed on the sideline for the final few plays of the practice. Wide receiver Erik Ezukanma and offensive lineman Dan Feeney also appeared to sustain minor injuries during practice.

-- Linebacker Malik Reed sat out practice, though he was spotted on the field. Also missing practice were CB Keion Crossen and CB Ethan Bonner — along with the two remaining PUP players, Nik Needham and Tanner Conner.

-- Brandon Jones and Trill Williams again wore red (no-contact) jerseys and took part in a ilmited number of team snaps. Terron Armstead again, as expected, was kept out of team periods.

-- Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle wore the orange jersey as the top performer from Tuesday.

-- The first competitive situation of practice again involved one-on-one work with defensive linemen against offensive linemen in pass-rushing situations, along with DBs vs. receivers, and running backs vs. linebackers in pass protection. There was some good work there by rookie De'Von Achane in pass protection and by Channing Tindall in pass rush.

-- In the meantime, there was a 3-on-3 receiver vs. DB session at the other end of the field and Xavien Howard got himself a pass breakup and an interception on a deep Tua Tagovailoa pass in the end zone intended for Robbie Chosen into double coverage. Safety DeShon Elliott also had two pass breakups in that drill. DB Elijah Campbell also had a nice pass breakup..

-- Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins continued his brilliant camp and he got into the backfield for a would-be sack of Tua on the first snap of 11-on-11 work. He also had a couple of plays against the run where he met the running back at the line.

-- Center Connor Williams had his first high shotgun snap, and it created pressure on Tagovailoa before he had to scramble out of the pocket.

-- Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel had a tackle for loss on a run by Myles Gaskin.

-- Defensive tackle Zach Sieler also was very noticeable both against the run and in the pass rush.

-- Wide receiver Braxton Berrios came up with a nice low catch, though the play probably would have ended with Jaelan Phillips getting a sack against Tua.

-- Achane had a nice and some catches in team sessions, but he also dropped a low but highly catchable pass in the end zone from Mike White.

-- On the last play of a session that featured two false starts and a defensive pass interference on Kader Kohou against Tyreek Hill, Tua threw a 25-yard completion to a wide open Hill down the left sideline after Noah Igbinoghene fell after trying to press him at the line.

-- Cornerback Justin Bethel. had a would-be sack against Skylar Thompson, but late was beaten for a touchdown pass from Mike White to Braxton Berrios in the back of the end zone.

-- Among offensive linemen who had noticeable blocks were Kendall Lamm and Lester Cotton.

-- Tight end Eric Saubert dropped a perfectly thrown pass over the middle from Tua when he turned around late to spot the ball.

-- Rookie free agent Mitchell Agude had another sack, but this one came White had to pull down a high shotgun snap from Alama Uluave.

-- Stop us if you've heard this before, but rookie cornerback Cam Smith had another nice pass breakup, this one in the end zone when he dove in front of River Cracraft to bat away a pass from Skylar Thompson.

-- Tua had some nice completions over the middle of the field in 11-on-11 work.

-- He had a touchdown pass on a nice back-shoulder completion to Hill with Howard in tight coverage.

-- Linebacker Cameron Goode had a tackle for loss on a run in a red-zone situation.

-- On the next play, Skylar Thompson threw a short touchdown pass to tight end Durham Smythe on a play that took a really long time to develop.

-- Chris Brooks, who had a 95-yard touchdown run at the end of practice Tuesday, had a nifty 6-yard touchdown run up the middle.

-- New cornerback Eli Apple had good coverage to force an incompletion from a Thompson pass to Cracraft near the sideline.

-- Among the quarterbacks, Tua had the best day, with White probably second.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Dolphins news and analysis year-round. Also, you can follow me on Twitter at @PoupartNFL, and that's where you can ask questions for the regular All Dolphins mailbags. You also can ask questions via email at fnalldolphins@yahoo.com.