Dolphins Sign Cam Smith, Whose Coaches Praised His Camp Growth
The Miami Dolphins have signed cornerback Cam Smith, the last of the team's four draftees, to his rookie deal.
Smith, a former South Carolina standout Miami selected with the 51st overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, was slotted to receive a four-year deal worth a little more than $7 million.
Based on the rookie salary slots for draftees Smith is supposed to receive a signing bonus of $2.1 million, and will hold a year-one cap charge of $1.27 million.
His signing leaves the Dolphins $13.6 million in cap space to use for the potential signing of free agents like tailback Dalvin Cook and defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, two players who could potentially fill roster voids before training camp's start later this month, and for signing impending free agents like defensive linemen Christian Wilkins, Raekwon Davis and Zach Sieler, and offensive linemen Robert Hunt and Connor Williams to contract extensions.
How did Cam Smith perform in camp?
As for Smith, he's coming off a solid offseason showing, one where the rookie handled himself well against Miami's second and third-team receivers.
Pro Bowl receiver Tyreek Hill sat out all of the offseason practices Smith participated in, and Jaylen Waddle, who worked sporadically with all quarterbacks during OTA and minicamp practice, was rarely lined up against the rookie.
Still, in the practices the media attended Smith was rarely spotted blowing a coverage, and or getting beat for a big reception. He also had a handful of deflected passes.
“He’s doing very well. But guess what, he’s a rookie. You know, we can sit here and we can look around the league since football’s been in [it's] inception, [rookies are] going to have their ups and downs. But he’s learning and he’s a fast learner," cornerback coach Sam Madison said about Smith, who tallied 91 tackles, six interceptions and 18 pass breakups in the 32 games he played for the Gamecocks.
Smith also broke up 15 of the 70 passes thrown in his direction the past two years, which is what seemingly impressed the Dolphins.
"He still has a long way to go, but he’s getting better at each and every last one of those things that we’re throwing at him. We’re going to keep challenging him, we’re going to keep putting him in positions and see exactly what we can get out of him," Madison continued. "He’s a rookie and there’s going to be some growing pains, but we’re trying to work those kinks out when we get to training camp.”
Who is Smith's competiton?
Smith will likely compete with Noah Igbinoghene, Keion Crossen, Justin Bethel, Bryce Thompson and maybe Trill Williams, who is possibly being moved to safety, to become one of the main primary backups on the boundary, spelling Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey in games.
If he masters those outside spots, it’s possible that Miami could test him out as a nickel cornerback, but that type of experimentation isn’t necessary at the moment because of Nik Needham’s return from the Achilles injury he suffered last October, and the emergence of Kader Kohou, an undrafted rookie who played well in the 13 starts he made last season.
Cleaning up his technique will be a major point of emphasis for Smith during training camp, which usually features no tackling and minimal pads for the first two weeks.
“I try to stronghold people a lot and assert my dominance on people. Sometimes that gets me into trouble,” Smith said, addressing one of his struggles. “Just playing controlled, playing within myself, and not really trying to do too much and just try to make a play."
