Dolphins 2023 Camp: August 22 Practice Observations

What stood out during the 16th practice of Miami Dolphins training camp

Highlights, lowlights and observations from the 16th practice (day 28) of Miami Dolphins training camp Tuesday:

-- The Dolphins practiced inside at the Baptist Health Training Complex when they returned to the field following their 28-3 victory against the Houston Texans on Saturday.

-- Practice was held on defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's 65th birthday.

-- What stood out, perhaps more than anything, was the return of several players to practice as well as some players getting back to doing team drills (although Christian Wilkins was not among the latter).

INGOLD BACK, CAM SMITH IN TEAM PERIODS

-- We'll start off with the attendance check, which included the return of fullback Alec Ingold, running back Myles Gaskin and cornerback Keion Crossen, with the first two even taking reps in 11-on-11 periods.

-- Rookie second-round pick Cam Smith took part in some 11-on-11 work for the first time since sustaining a shoulder injury in the preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons. Second-year tight end Tanner Conner, who was activated off PUP earlier in the day, also got some snaps in team periods.

-- Among those who did not practice at all were QB Mike White, T Terron Armstead, WR Jaylen Waddle, RB De'Von Achane, CB Justin Bethel, G Robert Jones, G Lester Cotton, TE Eric Saubert and WR Braylon Sanders.

-- White, Armstead, Waddle, Achane, Bethel, Cotton and Sanders all were spotted at practice, and good news with Armstead was that he was not wearing any protective device on his right leg. That was in contrast to Bethel, who had a brace around the left knee in his first media viewing since he was injured toward the end of a joint practice with the Atlanta Falcons two weeks ago.

-- Probably because the Dolphins were coming off a game and not a practice, nobody was wearing an orange jersey at practice.

GOOD DAY FOR SIELER AND TUA (DESPITE A PICK)

-- While Wilkins continued to skip team periods, fellow defensive lineman Zach Sieler continued to dominate those. He had a couple of would-be sacks in 11-on-11 periods, continuing a really strong summer performance.

-- The highlight on defense, though, probably was DeShon Elliott's leaping interception when Tua Tagovailoa tried to hit Braxton Berrios on a bomb toward the right-middle of the field.

-- That was one of the only blips for Tua, who overall had a very good practice. It included two great completions to Robbie Chosen, a short one outside the numbers despite tight coverage and an even better one down the seam in the face of pressure. Tua also had a perfect deep pass to Tyreek Hill down the right sideline after Hill got behind rookie cornerback Ethan Bonner, whose coverage actually wasn't that bad on the play.

-- Tua also had a couple of nice back-shoulder throws, a completion down the middle to Hill and another that Robbie Chosen couldn't bring down.

-- Neither Skylar Thompson nor James Blackmon, who was re-signed Monday to serve as the third quarterback in practice while White is in the concussion protocol, had any particularly noteworthy throws.

-- Before the team periods, the offensive linemen went against the defensive linemen in one-on-one pass-rushing battles, while the offense went against the defense in 7-on-7 red-zone work at the other end. In the linemen session, Austin Jackson held off Jaelan Phillips on two separate reps, Liam Eichenberg held up rookie Brandon Pili, while Da'Shawn Hand, Sieler and Mitchell Agude had clear wins for the defense.

-- In the 7-on-7 work, Eli Apple had a nice pass breakup with great coverage against Hill in the corner of the end zone, winning that round in their friendly battle.

BRADLEY CHUBB, MALIK REED ACTIVE IN PASS RUSH

-- Safety Jevon Holland had the first interception of practice after Cedrick Wilson Jr. bobbled a pass from Thompson on a slant (with some help from Xavien Howard).

-- Defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman got to Tua for a sack.

-- Guard Isaiah Wynn, battling for the starting left guard job, had a nice block to spring Salvon Ahmed on a run up the middle.

-- Rookie Randy Charlton got pressure on Tua to force an incompletion on another deep shot. Charlton, a long shot to make the 53-man roster, later batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage.

-- In a red zone period, Howard forced an incompletion with tight coverage against Hill in the end zone.

-- Linebacker Bradley Chubb, who was wearing an elbow pad on his right arm, got a sack against Tua.

-- Emmanuel Ogbah had a tackle for loss on a run by Ahmed when he set the edge and kept him from getting outside.

-- Linebacker Malik Reed had a couple of quarterback pressures.

-- River Cracraft and Myles Gaskin each dropped passes near the goal line in red zone work from Tua and Blackmon, respectively.

-- DB Elijah Campbell had a pass breakup against Blackman in the back of the end zone, but clearly felt he should have come up with the pick because he did some push-ups right after the play.

-- Rookie defensive tackle Brandon Pili also had a sack, against Thompson, near the end of practice.

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