Good morning Dolfans! Practice has concluded and what a day it was for Tua and the starting offense! Lets dive into it: 

Injury news: Coach McDaniel met with the media this morning confirming that Nickel; Kader Kohou has been placed on injured reserve and will be out for the season. Safety Ashtyn Davis officially suffered a non-contact injury, but it was not season-ending, McDaniel shared with media “it was not the worst case”. An update on James Daniels is that he is close to being 100% and should be cleared by doctors in the coming days.  

When it comes to the position battle for the QB2 role, McDaniel reiterated that Zach Wilson is the backup quarterback behind Tua, but he is keeping an open mind to 7th round rookie Quinn Ewers possibly taking his job.

As practice began, Jaylen Waddle was seen in the orange jersey for the day. The practice opened with positional 1-on-1s, and second year OL Patrick Paul held his own over Miami’s deep front seven. Rookie Jonah Savaiinaea also had a good rep against Kenneth Grant. Taking things to the skill positions, second year man Tahj Washington had another good rep this time in 1-on-1s creating space. Defensive tackle Zeek Biggers has been catching eyes with his performances lately and you can say the same for Grayson Murphy. Murphy was in the backfield disrupting plays again today. Elijah Campbell had a pick against Julian Hill. Campbell is known for his special teams play but will have a chance to be opposite of Minkah Fitzpatrick overtop with Ashtyn out.

The fearsome foursome of Zach Sieler, Chop Robinson, Jaelan Phillips, and Bradley Chubb shined during team drill, but the real standouts came from the Linebacker room. The trio of Britt, Gay Jr, and Brooks were flying around the field, getting their hats in every play.If the pass rush, and our linebackers keep playing the way they are and translate that into a game, that will take pressure off the secondary. Which will make defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver sleep easier at night.  

Transitioning to offense. Tua had arguably his best day today, keeping his streak of no interceptions through seven practices. Him and Waddle both started off where they left off yesterday. Tua hit waddle over the middle with a nice gain to start team drills. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine caught an impressive pass thrown by Tua. Zach Wilson and Quinn Ewers both threw eye opening passes to receivers today. Wilson threw a deep bomb to Dee Eskridge showing off his incredible arm talent. Alex Mattinson and Jaylen Wright both had good runs and Wrights running got him a touchdown in redzone drills.  

Even though the defense has been consistent through camp, the offense responded today led by Tua and Patrick Paul. The second-year Paul has been playing up to expectations and will continue to do so.  

Star players today were Patrick Paul, Tua Tagovailoa, Willie Gay Jr, Grayson Murphy, and Zach Wilson.  My nomination to wear the orange jersey next practice is Patrick Paul! 

There is no practice tomorrow, there is a player’s day off, but practice will resume Friday morning. Thank you for reading and have a great day fins nation! 

Photo Credits: Miami Dolphins, NFL, Sun Sentinel