Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley looks on from the field against the New York Giants during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
With the Miami Dolphins continuing to prepare in the preseason ahead of Week 1 of the regular season on Sept. 13 against the Las Vegas Raiders, the team has been waiting for the full return of wide receiver Chris Bell. As the Dolphins rookie receiver is nearing his return to full practice, head coach Jeff Hafley would give a key update on his progress.
Speaking after Miami's 26-3 loss to the New York Giants on Saturday, a member of the media asked where Bell is in his progress toward returning to full practice. Hafley would start by saying that the Louisville product is “close.”
“He's still in the red jersey. So when he takes his red jersey off, he'll be cleared for contact, and we'll be ready to go. The players are off tomorrow, so we'll sit down tomorrow. We'll talk to the trainers and get a glimpse of where he's at and see if we can kind of ramp him up even more,” Hafley said, via the team's transcript.
Where Dolphins' Chris Bell is in his progress
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If there is one position group that the Dolphins need help in, it's the receiver room, though there have been rookie standouts such as Caleb Douglas, who has been impressing in training camp. Bell had been projected to go as high as late in the first round, but he tore his ACL last December, leading to Miami selecting him with the 94th overall pick.
After the Dolphins activated Bell from the active/non-football injury list last Monday, he has slowly been making progress, with Saturday being the first time he's gone through a pre-game routine.
“I thought it was really good for him. The whole routine is different in this league, and I wanted him to feel it, go through it, so if he doesn't get to play in a preseason game, when he does play in a real game, it's not the first time,” Halfey said.
At any rate, it remains to be seen when Bell will practice with Miami in full with contact ahead of the regular-season opener on Sept. 13 against the Raiders.