The Miami Dolphins will play at the newly renovated Hard Rock Stadium for the first time this preseason as they will host the Tennessee Titans in their preseason finale on Thursday night. Miami is 2-1 on the preseason as is Tennessee.
If the third preseason game is considered the dress rehearsal, the fourth preseason game is what many would call the final audition. While a number of the Dolphins veterans aren’t expected to play against the Titans, the younger players should see a lot of action.
All 32 teams must reduce their rosters to 53 players by 4 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, September 3. After teams cut their roster to 53 players, they can name as many as 10 players to their practice squad any time after 12 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, September 4.
Thursday’s showing will go a long way to determining who are the final players that will fill out both the Dolphins and Titans roster.
Here are the three players to keep an eye on in Thursday’s night game:
- Kenyan Drake
After being hampered by a hamstring injury for several weeks, Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake will finally make his long-awaited debut against the Titans. Drake, who was selected in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, was expected compete for carries with Arian Foster and Jay Ajayi during the preseason, but he wasn’t able to practice with the team until August 23.
Drake said he isn’t worried about critics questioning his durability.
“Football’s a tough sport,” Drake said. “People get hurt. It’s about how you come back from an injury. … Hamstring injuries are very lingering. The training staff will tell me whether to go 90 (percent) or go as fast as I can. I’m a competitor, so when I go out there, it’s instinct.”
Drake suffered a number of injuries in college while at Alabama. In 2014, he broke his leg in an October loss to Ole Miss, which caused him to miss the rest of that regular season. Drake’s other injuries at Alabama include a cracked rib, sprained ankle, a concussion, a quad contusion and a broken right arm.
While Drake isn’t expected to be a starter in the Dolphins offense, he could receive some playing time during the regular season in head coach Adam Gase’s offense. Drake is versatile as he has good vision and excellent feet. He is also dangerous as a pass-catcher out of the backfield
- Xavien Howard
Drake isn’t the only rookie scheduled to play on Thursday night as second round pick Xavien Howard is also expected to see his first game action as well.
Howard began training camp on the Dolphins PUP (physically unable to perform) list because of a knee injury and he wasn’t activated until August 18. He practiced with the first team defense earlier this week and the Dolphins could use him in their secondary.
Tony Lippett and Bobby McCain have struggled to play the second outside cornerback position. Lippett, who was drafted by the Dolphins last year, is a former wide receiver who the team converted into a cornerback. With McCain size, he is probably better suited for the inside nickel role in the Dolphins defense.
In the limited time Howard has been on the field; he has looked very much like one of the best cornerbacks on the Dolphins roster. Howard has yet to any game action, but with a solid showing against Tennessee, there’s a chance Howard could start opposite Byron Maxwell Week 1 against Seattle.
- Julius Warmsley
Arguably, the biggest surprise of the preseason for the Dolphins might be defensive lineman Julius Warmsely. The 26-year-old from Baton Rouge, Louisiana has made a number of plays during practices and throughout the preseason as he has recorded six tackles, three sacks and forced a fumble.
Warmsely has clearly outperformed former second-round pick Jordan Phillips. Considering Earl Mitchell is still bothered by a calf injury and his lack of production last season, will another excellent performance by Warmsely get him on the Dolphins 53-man roster on Saturday afternoon? At least at the moment, he has to be considered based on the fact that he can play both the end and tackle positions on the defensive line.
Twitter: @antwanstaley
