Dolphins Camp: Washington Joint Practice Report

The highlights, lowlights, and noteworthy developments in practice Thursday.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Mike White (14) runs on the field during joint practice with the Washington Commanders at Baptist Health Training Complex on Thursday.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Mike White (14) runs on the field during joint practice with the Washington Commanders at Baptist Health Training Complex on Thursday. / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
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Dolphins players who didn't practice with/against Washington on Thursday were RB Jeff Wilson Jr., WR Jaylen Waddle, WR Anthony Schwartz, TE Tanner Conner, C Aaron Brewer, DT Neville Gallimore, DT Benito Jones, LB Anthony Walker Jr., LB David Long. Jr., CB Ethan Bonner, CB Jalen Ramsey, S Jevon Holland and S Jordan Poyer.

Tackle Terron Armstead was present but did not participate in any period against Washington, same as in the two practices with Atlanta last week.

Cornerback Kendall Fuller, who joined the Dolphins as a UFA after coming over from Washington, wore the orange jersey.

Overall, it’s probably fair to give Washington a close win on both sides of the ball.

DOLPHINS DEFENSE HIGHLIGHTS

We’ll start the observations with the Dolphins defense, which had its hands full with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, particularly early on.

The first competitive session involved red zone work and Daniels threw five touchdown passes in a short period of time.

A highlight for the Dolphins here was a good coverage rep by second-year cornerback Cam Smith against Olamide Zaccheaus.

While practice would end on a high note for him, it didn’t start off great for former Commanders cornerback Kendall Fuller, who was beaten in the middle of the end zone by Terry McLaurin.

Cornerback Kader Kohou had some really good moments outside of good coverage, starting when he came up in run support to meet running back Brian Robinson in the backfield.

There were a couple of other runs where Washington created a big hole in the middle of the line, though, starting with an Austin Ekeler in this period.

New linebacker Wyatt Ryan was in good position when the Commanders ran a jet sweep.

Daniels’ touchdown passes included a sidearm throw that bounced off somebody at the line and another where he threw off his back foot and was on target to McLaurin against Kohou.

Safety Jordan Colbert had a stuff on a running play.

In the second team period, with the Washington offense starting around midfield, Emmanuel Ogbah had a tackle for loss on a Brian Robinson run.

Kohou had good coverage on an incompletion over the middle against Luke McCaffrey.

The Dolphins were not able to put pressure on Washington quarterbacks without sending an extra rusher.

Kohou forced an incompletion with pressure up the middle.

Rookie cornerback Isaiah Johnson had great coverage on a deep attempt to McCaffrey to force an incompletion.

Safety Marcus Maye had two good plays, first forcing an incompletion on an attempt down the middle and the coming up with the one interception for the Miami defense when he caught the carom after Duke Riley knocked the ball loose from a Washington tight end.

Da’Shawn Hand had two noticeable plays, one a stop on a run and the other that forced backup QB Jeff Driskell to scramble.

DOLPHINS DEFENSE HIGHLIGHTS

Moving to the Dolphins offense in the work done outside, it also started with red zone periods.

Wide receiver Erik Ezukanma dropped a touchdown pass from Skylar Thompson while wide open in the end zone.

Tua Tagovailoa was sacked by Dorance Armstrong off a bootleg.

Tua came back with a 4-yard touchdown pass to River Cracraft on third-and-goal.

Mike White threw a touchdown pass on his first rep, connecting with tight end Durham Smythe for 8 yards.

In the session that began around midfield after the teams completed their second set of kickoff reps, Tua went deep for Tyreek Hill down the left sideline but the pass was slightly overthrown.

Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen got by Robert Jones for a would-be sack of Tua.

Thompson hooked up with Tyreek Hill for a 21-yard completion.

Armstrong disrupted back-to-back Dolphins plays, stopping Mostert for a loss and then beating Austin Jackson for a would-be sack.

White had a great play fake that he followed up with a long hook-up with Malik Washington, but safety Darrick Forest stripped the ball from Washington as he went to the ground, with the closest official ruling it a completion and a fumble out of bounds.

Linebacker Jamin Davis sniffed out a Tua bootleg and got right up on him, and that was followed immediately by Jonathan Allen moving Liam Eichenberg back to create pressure.

Jaylen Wright had a solid 10-yard run to start a drive with Thompson at quarterback, but former Dolphins cornerback Noah Igbinoghene came in on a blitz for a would-be sack on the next play.

The last Dolphins offensive play outside was an 11-yard completion from Thompson to Ezukanma.

The practice concluded inside with each team getting a run at a two-minute drill.

The Dolphins’ drive featured an absolute dart from Tua for a completion over the middle to Malik Washington despite tight coverage.

There was a low shotgun snap from Liam Eichenberg a couple of plays later, followed by an incompletion where Jonnu Smith was asked for a pass interference call.

The drive ended with Jason Sanders making a 54-yard field goal (with room to spare).

Washington then took the ball, but on first down Terry McLaurin slipped making his cut and Daniels’ pass went right to Fuller, who came up with the interception to end the practice in style against his former team.

DAILY DOLPHINS PRACTICE REPORTS



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Alain Poupart

ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of All Dolphins and co-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, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). 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.