The first padded practice of the 2026 season is in the books as the temperature turned up Monday in Miami Gardens. The first play of the day was a seemingly innocuous run for a minimal gain, but onlookers witnessed a core principle of their Miami Dolphins, even if they didn’t realize it.
Rookie tight end Will Kacmarek executed a punishing pancake block, a common occurrence on his college tape at Ohio State. Fellow tight end Ben Sims recognized that moment as a defining example of what this team wants to be.
“It’s one of our core values, toughness, and I saw that play on our script and I said, let’s do it,” Sims said. “Will (Kacmarek) is those values. He believes in that, so being able to do a counter on the first practice of pads speaks to what we want to be about.”
Kacmarek and Sims brought the power, while rookie tight end Seydou Traore chewed up yardage on Monday. Traore started his day akin to Kacmarek with a space-clearing block. He then proceeded to catch a handful of passes for gains of 10-plus yards, including a one-handed grab along the sideline.