Well, that was bad.
The Miami Dolphins’ first joint practice against the Detroit Lions was nothing short of a disaster.
Defensively, the Dolphins couldn’t stop the Lions offense as quarterback Jared Goff connected frequently with All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Offensively, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Co. failed to find the spark to get the high-powered unit rolling. Then the injury bug bit: edge rusher Chop Robinson was carted off with an undisclosed injury.
Luckily, the Dolphins have a chance to respond Thursday.
Here’s a breakdown of what happened during the Dolphins’ first of two joint practices against the Lions.
TOP PERFORMERS
Inside linebacker Jordyn Brooks: The inside linebacker was one of the few bright spots on a defense that consistently got gashed.
Brooks not only looked good in coverage, forcing at least one incompletion and stopping players short after catches, he was active in the run game. He met Lions tailback Jahmyr Gibbs in the hole to stop the two-time Pro Bowler at the line of scrimmage as well as showcased some elite open field tackling when he corralled fellow Detroit running back David Montgomery for a short gain.
The six-year veteran’s best play came when he forced Montgomery to fumble after tackling the Lions tailback behind the line a scrimmage. While Montgomery recovered the ball, Brooks displayed a tenacity that was rarely seen on the field.
Brooks’ only misstep was a defensive holding call on the final play of practice.
Running back De’Von Achane: Overall, the offense didn’t play great.
Achane, however, showed a bit of life
During 7-on-7s, the third-year tailback caught a ball from Tagovailoa for a nice chunk of yards. Then, during team drills, he had a nice misdirection run that would’ve picked up significant yards.
STOCK UP
Edge rusher Derrick McLendon: The edge rusher continued his dominant training camp against the Lions.
Not only did McLendon consistently win his reps during 1-on-1s, he got some extended run with the starters during the situational period at the end of practice when Robinson went down.
Although he didn’t make a play per sey, he remained a constant presence in the backfield.
STOCK DOWN
Defensive back Jack Jones: From the very beginning, Jones was chirping.
From the very beginning, Jones was chirping.
The only issue was that he didn’t back it up.
St. Brown consistently torched the fourth-year corner who seemingly sought out the matchup against the three-time Pro Bowler. It didn’t matter the period — 1-on-1s, 7-on-7s, 11-on-11s — if St. Brown saw Jones across from him, he cooked.
Even worse: St. Brown did it in a multitude of ways. He caught deep balls. He caught a 5-yard touchdown. And he did damage with his fair share of grabs in the intermediate as well.
Injury updates
As previously mentioned, Robinson was carted off although he posted on his Instagram story that he’s “good.” A source confirmed that it was not a head injury.
Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips didn’t suit up with an undisclosed injury.
Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was a limited participant.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill returned to practice following an oblique injury but didn’t do anything competitive.
Edge rusher Mo Kamara remains in concussion protocol.
Right tackle Austin Jackson has a lower leg injury and is expected back by the Sept. 7 opener against the Indianapolis Colts.
Safety Ashtyn Davis is out indefinitely with a leg injury.
Fullback Alec Ingold remains in concussion protocol.
Offensive linemen Andrew Meyer is not close to returning from an undisclosed injury.
Offensive lineman Kion Smith sat out with an undisclosed injury.
Offensive lineman Bayron Matos remains out with “an above the shoulder type injury.”
What they said:
“Today, offensively it was a very frustrating day in regards to what we wanted to do, what we said we wanted to do,” Tagovailoa said. “We just weren’t able to get things jumpstarted.”