Tua Tagovailoa has done an admirable job taking care of the football during the Miami Dolphins’ first 12 training camp practices, only throwing on interception during that stretch.
But Tagovailoa was careless during Friday’s joint practice against the Chicago Bears, throwing three interceptions on the day, which includes one that Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds would have turned into a pick-6 touchdown during the practice’s final red-zone period if the action were real.
The Dolphins would have produced at least six turnovers during Friday’s joint practice if the action were real, which was a reflection of how much Mike McDaniel’s offense struggled against Dennis Allen’s Bears defense.
Here’s a breakdown of what happened in Day 13, the joint practices against the Bears.
Top Performers
▪ Receiver Malik Washington showed up big on a day when Miami’s offense was forced to play without Tyreek Hill, who is sidelined with an oblique strain. Washington would have led the team in receptions during Friday’s joint practice, and played with a toughness that few of his teammates matched against a Bears defense that was clearly trying to intimidate Miami’s offense.
▪ Offensive tackle Larry Borom played poorly in camp’s first week, but since taking over for Austin Jackson as the Dolphins’ first-team right tackle the fifth-year veteran has thrived. He won most of his reps during 1-on-1 and held his own against the Bears defensive ends for most of Friday’s scrimmage. It probably helps that Borom has chemistry with James Daniels from their time together with the Chicago Bears.
▪ Cornerback Cornell Armstrong has had a surprisingly strong camp performance, and it’s allowing him to compete with Mike Hilton for the Dolphins’ starting nickel role. Armstrong held his own in coverage against the Bears and excelled during the special teams period, especially during his work as a gunner. If Armstrong can lock up one of the top two gunner roles there’s a strong possibility he might make it onto Miami’s 53-man roster.
STOCK UP
▪ Bradley Chubb, the Dolphins’ most experienced pass rusher, was one of the main pressure generators Friday. He delivered a sack of Bears starting quarterback Caleb Williams during the final red-zone period that concluded practice, and then flushed him out the pocket for what ended up being pass thrown away. While Williams wasn’t consistently sacked, he was flushed out the pocket a number of times and forced to scramble. Chubb was one of the main pressure generators on Friday.
STOCK DOWN
▪ Alexander Mattison has produced an impressive camp overall, especially since the pads came on. But the veteran tailback committed two fumbles during Friday’s practice. One was on a handoff and the other was on a screen play that concluded with him having the ball stripped. Considering Mattison has committed six career fumbles in his previous six seasons we can chalk Friday’s performance up to a bad day, not a fumbling habit.
Injury updates
▪ Receiver Tyreek Hill is nursing an oblique injury and was held out of Friday’s joint practice.
▪ Cornerback Jack Jones left Friday’s practice with what appeared to be cramping caused by dehydration.
▪ Left guard Jonah Savaiinaea left Friday’s before the final practice for undisclosed reasons.
▪ Safety Elijah Campbell is out of his red jersey and practicing without limitations.
▪ Pass rusher Mohamed Kamara was left in South Florida because of a concussion he sustained on Wednesday and is in the NFL’s concussion protocol program.
▪ Center Andrew Meyer, who performed well during his stint as the starter when Aaron Brewer was held out of practice’s first nine sessions, is sidelined by an undisclosed injury.
▪ Fullback Alec Ingold, who sustained a concussion during an 11-on-11 period late on Sunday, remains in the NFL concussion protocol
▪ Right tackle Austin Jackson (lower extremity) won’t be back until maybe the Sept. 7 season opener against the Indianapolis Colts.
▪ Cornerback Jason Marshall Jr., who was shelved for week, participated in Friday’s practice.
▪ Cornerback Cam Smith, who has been nursing a soft-tissue leg injury, missed his sixth practice.
▪ Safety Dante Trader Jr. continues nursing a soft-tissue issue and will be held out of practice for a week, and had his participation limited Friday.
▪ Offensive tackle Byron Matos, who sustained a neck/shoulder injury on training camp’s first day, has missed nine practices since the injury that hospitalized him.
What they said
“I felt like we did good. There were a couple plays we left out there, a couple of mistakes we made, but that’s why we got practice. We’ll watch the film and get it fixed,” Chop Robinson on the Dolphins defensive performance against the Bears in Friday’s joint practice.