A live blog of the Miami Dolphins’ practice against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday. Keep checking back for updates:
12:45: Here’s how the “second team on second team” portion of practice ended:
Salvon Ahmed dropped a Jacoby Brissett short pass, and Brissett then threw incomplete. But Liam Eichenberg had a breakdown in pass protection and the Dolphins turned it over on downs.
But the Falcons final drive ended when AJ McCarron’s pass was deflected on the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Jamal Perry.
12:30 p.m.: In his final 11 on 11 session of the day, Tua threw to Jaylen Waddle for a 15 yard catch, threw over the middle to Mike Gesicki for a 20-plus yard gain, then threw slightly wide to Gesicki, who was well covered.
Then Tua delivered short passes to Waddle and Adam Shaheen. But Austin Jackson was beaten in pass protection on one play and it might have been a sack in a real game.
Then Tua hit Hollins for a 10-yard gain on the sidelines. But a Tua pass to Gesicki, who was shaking his hand as we walked off; he might have jammed a finger.
Then Tua threw incomplete to Gesicki in the end zone and then threw the ball out of the end zone on fourth down when nobody was open.
Then, on Atlanta’s final drive, Emmanuel Ogbah and Andrew Van Ginkel got pressure on Matt Ryan, forcing an incompletion.
But Ryan found a hole between Jason McCourty and Trill Williams for a completion to keep the drive alive. Williams was then beaten again for a sizable gain... But the Dolphins secondary then forced two Ryan interceptions and Ogbah sacked him again to end the drive.
Ogbah had three sacks on that Falcons possession -quite an impressive display...
Nik Needham limped off and left the field on a cart, though he could walk under his own power.
12:15: Tua Tagovailoa threw a beautiful TD pass in the corner of the end zone to Jakeem Grant in 7 on 7 drills red zone drills.. Also in those drills, Tua threw a TD pass to Mack Hollins, who dunked the ball over the goalpost for the second day in a row....
Tight end Chris Myarick had a nice catch in red zone drills from Jacoby Brissett for a touchdown. Robert Foster and Salvon Ahmed also caught TD passes from Brissett..
Defensively, Calvin Munson made a nice play to prevent a TD in red zone drills... Byron Jones was beaten for one touchdown but has had a solid camp... Van Ginkel broke up a TD pass in the back of the end zone.
Noon: Tua Tagovailoa threw his sixth interception in 15 practices in 11 on 11 drills, to Isaiah Oliver. He was pressured on the play and it was a poor throw over the middle.
To that point, Tua had been sharp, including two chunk play passes to Mike Gesicki... Robert Foster dropped a pass..
On the defensive side, Jevon Holland intercepted Matt Ryan on a pass deflected by Xavien Howard. Andrew Van Ginkel also had what appeared to be an interception on the far field... Nik Needham is getting some first team nickel work today.
11:30: Tua remained sharp in the second set of 11 on 11s, with a dart on a slant to Mike Gesicki. But Myles Gaskin then dropped a pass. Gesicki then caught a short pass from Tagovailoa....
Jacoby Brissett delivered a sideline pass to Salvon Ahmed for a 25-yard gain; Ahmed caught it with two defenders around him That’s the third chuck catch for Ahmed in the past week, including one for a touchdown in the Bears game. But Brissett threw a pick to Delrick Abrams after Myles Gaskin made a great block in pass protection...
On the defensive side, Jevon Holland is sharing first team free safety work with Jason McCourty. Jaelan Phillips is getting first team work in certain packages,... Jamal Perry dropped an interception...
Though Larnel Coleman opened as the second team left tackle, Greg Little is getting some second team left tackle work.
11:20: Lynn Bowden fell to the ground in pain after catching a pass from Jacoby Brissett. After lying on the turf for a couple minutes, he got up limping slightly and holding the back of his leg, with what seemed to be a hamstring injury. He left practice and entered the team facility.
11:05: Tua Tagovailoa was sharp early in 11 on 11 drills, with intermediate completions to Durham Smythe and Jaylen Waddle. in 11 on 11s and a nice pass to Adam Shaheen in 7 on 7s...
On the other field, Xavien Howard intercepted a Matt Ryan pass...
Solomon Kindley replaced Liam Eichenberg as the first team left guard. That’s an ongoing competition. Jesse Davis is again with the starters at right tackle, which has been the case since practice No. 4. This is practice 15....
Eichenberg was playing second team right tackle today, with Larnel Coleman at second team left tackle. The rest of the second team offensive line: Cameron Tom at center and Jermaine Eluemunor and Adam Pankey at guard.
10:55: Good to see tight end Hunter Long practicing some, with a brace on his knee. He caught a 15-yard pass from Jacoby Brissett early in practice. He wants to get back quickly after what appeared to be a worrisome knee injury two weeks ago.
10:45 p.m.: The Dolphins signed linebacker Josh Harvey Clemons, who has 41 career tackles and 1.5 sacks in 35 games over three seasons with the Washington Football Team. The 6-4, 265-pounder adds to a linebacker group that has been missing Vince Biegel and recently got back Elandon Roberts (see below) and Jaelan Phillips.
Harvey Clemons is a former seventh round pick who played at Louisville and Georgia. He opted out of last season because of concerns about COVID-19; he has two sons with asthma.
10:25 update: The Dolphins are removing Preston Williams and Elandon Roberts from the PUP list. Williams hasn’t played since sustaining a Lisfranc foot injury last November in a game against Arizona.
Roberts has been out since a serious knee injury last December against Las Vegas.
Williams immediately will join a receiver competition that has been missing a handful of players, including DeVante Parker (hamstring), Will Fuller (lower body), Albert Wilson and Isaiah Ford. All four of those receivers remained sidelined Thursday.
Williams played in eight games each of his first two NFL seasons. He had 32 catches for 428 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie and 18 for 288 last season, with four touchdowns. Williams has started 14 of the 16 games in which he has appeared but projects as a likely backup behind Parker and Fuller, with Jaylen Waddle expected to play a lot in the slot.
Roberts started 11 games for the Dolphins last season but now projects as a backup behind Benardrick McKinney at inside linebacker, opposite Jerome Baker. Duke Riley has been getting a lot of playing time there.
Roberts had 61 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in his first year as a Dolphin last season.
Jerome Baker is at practice after walking off with a trainer late in Wednesday’s session. Cornerback Javaris Davis, who impressed early in camp, is not wearing pads and thus not participating in practice.
But Noah Igbinoghene, who had been wearing a red-non contact jersey this week, is now out of that jersey and cleared for contact.
Besides Fuller, Parker, Wilson and Ford, also absent from practice was tight end Cethan Carter, who sustained a lower-body injury against Chicago, plus Biegel, Brandon Jones (lower body) and Sam Eguavoen (COVID list).
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 10:31 AM.
