On Monday, the Miami Dolphins held their last open training camp to the public. The team will be flying up to South Carolina to practice with the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday prior to playing them on Saturday night.
Here are the news and notes from the last day of Dolphins training camp:
Kenny Stills returned to practice for the first time since August 2. The receiver had been dealing with a calf injury that has kept him out of practice the last two weeks. Stills said it was just good to be back on the field.
“I’m behind on a few things,” Stills said. “But I feel like I’ve got experience, I’ve played before, so I just have to get in there and try to make plays.”
Ryan Tannehill spoke with reporters after practice and was glad to be able to work with Stills again.
“It’s nice to have him back, said Tannehill. “I think we’ve missed him, just seeing what he can do. Actually, his highlight tape from college was playing in the weight room on the way out to practice today as we were warming up, so (it) got my excitement going a little bit and then just seeing him out here, it was great. We kind of saw what he can do a little bit. He had a big catch in 7-on-7, down the field. And then a big one there in two-minute.”
Last season for the New Orleans Saints, Stills caught 63 receptions for 931 yards and three touchdowns. During practice on Monday, Stills showed the Dolphins players and fans in attendance what he can do.
On a 7-on-7 passing drill, Stills caught a 35-yard pass from Tannehill. He also caught three other balls during some other drills, including a catch during a two-minute drill.
Head coach Joe Philbin liked what he saw from Stills on Monday.
“I thought he looked good, Philbin said. “Obviously he’s been working hard, doing what he’s capable of doing, but it’s good to get him out here and work on the route concepts and the timing with the other receivers and the quarterbacks. It was good to have him.”
With first round pick DeVante Parker still recovering from his foot injury, the team needs Stills back and healthy. If he can return to his 2014 form, he will add another dimension to the Dolphins offense.
Branden Albert is showing signs of recovering
While it was only a three snaps, tackle Branden Albert took reps on the Dolphins offensive line for the first time during training camp.
Albert has been recovering from the ACL and MCL injury he suffered last November against the Detroit Lions. Miami has been patient with Albert and has given him more and more with each practice.
Philbin isn’t sure how much Albert will practice with the team in Spartanburg S.C. against the Panthers on Wednesday and Thursday.
“We haven’t made any final decisions,” Philbin said. “Saw him get in a little bit today, it was great to see him get in there, saw him working on cut technique. It was great to have him working on the things that he’s going to be doing throughout the course of the year, we’ll just see how he feels, see where we’re at before we decide to put him into a game situation. Let’s face it, the competition is going to be turned up when we go down there on Wednesday and Thursday, which is good. We’ll see.”
Miami cut tight end Arthur Lynch
Prior to practice on Monday, the Dolphins cut 2014 fifth-round pick, Arthur Lynch. The tight end was released to make room for linebacker James Davidson. Philbin said cutting players like Lynch is just part of the business in training camp.
“A lot of times you make roster moves, but they’re all made for the best interest of the team and Arthur, appreciate all of his hard work,” Philbin said. “I’m sure he’ll get another opportunity at some point in time. Those are the guys at that position that we felt were the five best guys at this point in time.”
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