MIAMI GARDENS — It was a packed house at the Baptist Health Training Complex, meaning there were about 5,000 enthusiastic fans in attendance for the Miami Dolphins first training camp practice open to the public.
The Dolphins enhanced the practice experience for fans by installing big video screens that face the stands. So if the Dolphins are practicing on the far field of their two practice fields, fans could still get a good glimpse of the action.
The Dolphins had been blessed with good health for the first three days of training camp, but tight end Greg Dulcich and offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer weren’t seen Sunday.
Coach Jeff Hafley spoke before practice so the media wasn’t able to ask about Dulcich and Salyer.
Here’s what we observed from Sunday’s practice:
— The deep passing game emerged Sunday as quarterbacks Malik Willis and Quinn Ewers were the primary QBs on the deep throws with QB Cam Miller getting in on the action once or twice.
— Willis hit WR Tutu Atwell for maybe a 60-yard gain late in 11-on-11 practice. S Dante Trader Jr. stopped Atwell around the 10-yard line. It was a timely play for the speedy Atwell, considering he’s had a low-key training camp.
— RB De’Von Achane had a short burst up the middle on the first play of 11 on 11, but DE Chop Robinson might have gotten a hand on him at the line of scrimmage and spun him around. It was a nice display by Robinson on an inside run.
— DT Jordan Phillips pressured Willis on the second play off 11 on 11 right before Willis threw a deep, incomplete pass. Phillips, the 2025 fifth-round pick who has maintained his starting job, has had a good offseason and training camp.
— DE Josh Uche pressured Willis, getting past LG Kadyn Proctor, before Willis hit WR Malik Washington for perhaps a 20-yard completion. The rush by Uche was promising. Proctor, you’ll recall, allowed a sack by veteran DT Zach Sieler on the final play of Friday’s practice.
— Ewers, who has struggled in the early days of camp, hit WR Theo Wease Jr. (who else?) on a 15-yard completion on his first pass of the day. The Ewers-to-Wease connection has been strong since last season.
— WR Donaven McCulley did a nice job blocking CB Ethan Bonner on a run play. McCulley’s block is probably a low-key contribution that Hafley and his staff will notice.
— CB Chris Johnson, the rookie first-round pick, had a nice INT when he stepped in front of WR AJ Henning on the left sideline. The pass was from Ewers. Johnson has had a nice camp. He had a fumble recovery a few days ago.
— DE Cameron Goode, who needs to impress to make the 53-man regular-season roster, did that on back-to-back plays. He had a tackle for loss along with LB Willie Gay Jr on RB Anthony Hankerson and then recovered a fumble after a botched handoff between Hankerson and Miller.
— DTs Kenneth Grant and Sieler combined for a 5-yard TFL on Achane, a nice showing considering the Dolphins need run-stuffing ability in the middle.
— Uche had a sack on Willis, beating RT Austin Jackson. It’s tough to say whether it was a good play by Uche or a bad play by Jackson, who has struggled at times in camp.
— CB JuJu Brents had a nice pass breakup on rookie WR Caleb Douglas after it appeared Douglas secured the pass. Brents, who has been injury prone in his career, is expected to be the best CB of the group.
— Willis hit rookie WR Kevin Coleman Jr. on a TD pass of about 70 yards. CB Marco Wilson fell about halfway through the route, leaving the safeties to cover.
— Henning had a TD of maybe 60 yards on a pass from Ewers late in the 11-on-11 session. CB A.J. Green III was the closest defender on the play. It was a much-needed play from both Henning, who also had a 50-yard reception late in practice, and Ewers.
— Sunday’s weather was mostly cloudy/overcast, which kept temperatures down. It was 83 degrees at the start of practice with a “feels-like” temperature of 84 degrees.
— CB Darrell Baker (lower body/physically unable to perform), WR Chris Bell (knee/non-foot-ball injury list) and CB Storm Duck (knee/PUP) didn’t practice, as expected.
— DE Mason Reiger, the undrafted rookie from Wisconsin, has appeared athletic and nimble in individual drills but he hasn’t yet emerged in 11 on 11. Although the Dolphins are searching for pass rushers, Reiger has an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster.
— Fans still sported Tyreek Hill and Tua Tagovailoa jerseys Sunday. There weren’t many jerseys of active players. Achane was probably the most popular jersey for returning players. That’s no surprise, considering the next most popular players probably are LB Jordyn Brooks, C Aaron Brewer, LT Patrick Paul and Sieler, who don’t excel in jersey sales because of their positions.
— There’s been little or no “name” people attending practice through four days of training camp. In recent years people such as influencer “IshowSpeed” or Brazilian soccer phenom Vini Jr or the cast of “Love Island” have been seen at training camp. There’s been none of that so far this year. Former WR Steve Smith, who works as an analyst for NFL Network, was in attendance Sunday.
— There are very few rookies on the starting kickoff coverage team at this early point of training camp. It’s interesting because nowadays linebackers are used frequently on kickoff coverage, and the Dolphins have three active rookie linebackers in Jacob Rodriguez, Trey Moore and Kyle Louis.
Stock up: DE Cameron Goode
He’s longshot to have a role in the rotation but he made back-to-back plays Sunday with a fumble recovery and a TFL. Goode, the 2022 seventh-round pick, has flashed through training camp. Henning also could have had this honor.
Stock down: Play-making secondary
The Dolphins had perhaps nine or 10 turnovers entering Sunday’s practice, mostly by DBs. Those big plays disappeared Sunday, for the most part, as the passing game found its footing and made plays throughout the day. On the final play of practice, for example, Miller hit Henning on a 50-yard completion. CB Miles Battle was the closest in coverage.