Here’s what happened at Day 2 of Dolphins training camp: Who impressed, highlights, more By Barry Jackson , Omar Kelly and C. Isaiah Smalls II Updated July 24, 2025 11:51 AM 00:19 News, notes, highlights and observations from Day 2 of Dolphins training camp practice on Thursday in Miami Gardens: ▪ First, some encouraging news: Offensive lineman Bayros Matos, who was taken by helicopter to Ryder Trauma Center after he was injured late in Wednesday’s practice, showed improvement Thursday. His agent, Perlesta Hollingsworth, told the Miami Herald on Wednesday night that Matos has “some movement but not full movement in his right leg. It comes and goes.” The Dolphins announced Thursday that Matos — who remained overnight at Ryder Trauma Center for evaluation and testing — “has movement in all extremities and is in stable condition. He will remain in the care of doctors for continued observation.” Matos was injured during an inadvertent collision with a teammate. “He ran into a defensive lineman when his head was lowered and took the brunt of the impact,” Hollingsworth said. ▪ Tua Tagovailoa had a pretty good day. He completed a 20-yarder to Jaylen Waddle, but Kader Kohou prevented a completion on a Tagovailoa pass to Tyreek Hill. But later, Tagovailoa hit Hill for 10 yards, his first catch in the early stages of training camp. And a few minutes later, Tagovailoa hit Hill for 25 yards. Tagovailoa completed a 22-yard pass to Waddle, who contorted his body to make a nice catch. Practice ended with a Tagovailoa incompletion to Waddle. ▪ Kohou had very good coverage on an incomplete pass from Tagovailoa to Hill. Kohou disrupted Hill’s route. ▪ Among Thursday’s mishaps: Malik Washington fumbled after a completion, and rookie safety Dante Trader Jr. recovered... Waddle dropped what should have been an easy completion over the middle.... Penalties torpedoed three straight plays — a combination of false starts and offsides. Five more penalties followed later. There were at least four false start penalties. ▪ De’Von Achane’s speed and burst were on display, with two long runs that could have gone for touchdowns. ▪ Rookie running back Ollie Gordon II made a nifty move to escape a defender on a four-yard run. But another Gordon run was snuffed out by Quinton Bell. ▪ Center Aaron Brewer remained away from practice and was wearing a compression sleeve on his right leg. Andrew Meyer continues to get a lot of work at center. Also out Thursday: Matos and cornerback Artie Burns, who is feared to have a torn ACL. Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu, who is on the non-football injury, watched practice from the sidelines. Coach Mike McDaniel said his issue is nothing serious. ▪ Defensive lineman Benito Jones wore an orange jersey bestowed on the standout in the previous day’s practice. ▪ Linebacker Bradley Chubb, who missed last season after three major knee injuries in Week 17 of the 2023 season, was no longer wearing the knee brace that he used during Wednesday’s session. ▪ Tight end Tanner Conner, who had a fumble Wednesday, came back strong Thursday by extending his arms on the sideline for a 20-yard reception from Tagovailoa and then catching a 25-yarder from Zach Wilson. ▪ Linebacker Chop Robinson had a quarterback pressure that could easily have been ruled a sack. ▪ Linebacker Derrick McClendon and defensive lineman Matt Dickerson combined on a sack. ▪ Zach Wilson was pretty good, completing a 20-yarder to Tarik Black and a 25-yarder to Conner. Erik Ezukanma then dropped a long pass from Wilson; Ethan Bonner and Trader had good coverage, but it probably should have been caught. Ezukanma failed to haul in another Wilson pass, but there was good coverage on the play. Wilson overthrew a deep pass to Malik Washington, with Patrick McMorris providing very good coverage. ▪ Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers completed a 20-yard pass to Malik Washington. Ewers and a 15-yard pass to rookie tight end Jalin Conyers in 7-on-7 work. But an errant Ewers pass was nearly intercepted by second-year cornerback Ryan Cooper Jr. ▪ Linebacker Jaelan Phillips stuffed Achane for a 1-yard loss on a running play. ▪ New guard James Daniels, coming off a torn Achilles in Week 4 last season, participated in two sets of team drills, after participating in only one on Wednesday. ▪ The Dolphins are practicing at 9:15 a.m. on Friday and Saturday before taking Sunday off. Saturday’s practice is the first one open to the pubic. ▪ Jaylen Wright had a nice cut-back on a sizable run. Alec Ingold stood up Jaelan Phillips on the play. ▪ Bonner had a good day, preventing a completion from Tagovailoa to Hill. ▪ Bell drew a holding penalty on Julian Hill. ▪ Mo Kamara had a nice play to stop a running back in the backfield. ▪ Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick appeared to be giving Tagovailoa some tips in an animated teaching point discussion. ▪ Jaylen Wright flashed his speed on a 15-yard run. ▪ Reporters are not permitted to disclose who’s with the first or second teams, but it’s safe to say that the cornerback spot opposite Kohou is an open competition. Several players are getting reps with the starters. ▪ Chubb destroyed Patrick Paul on a sack.
The Miami Dolphins were back on the practice field Thursday for the second practice of the 2025 training camp. Along with the three players on injury lists — Liam Eichenberg, Darren Waller and Ifeatu Melifonwu — center Aaron Brewer was missing from practice for a second consecutive day. Waller and Melifonwu watched parts of practice from the sidelines. Also absent were the two players who sustained ominous-looking injuries at practice Wednesday, cornerback Artie Burns and offensive tackle Bayron Matos. Nose tackle Benito Jones wore the orange jersey as the player of the day Wednesday. As was the case Wednesday, rain came down during practice, though not as consistently. There again were two officials on hand, and they were busy throwing flags. PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS -- In the opening 7-on-7 session, Jaylen Waddle made a nice sliding catch over the middle on a pass from Tua Tagovailoa. -- On the next play, Kader Kohou had nice coverage on an in route by Tyreek Hill and batted Tua's pass away. -- Zach Wilson showed great zip on a completion to Malik Washington. -- Quinn Ewers showed great ball placement on a completion to Tahj Washington and later on a seam completion to tight end Jalin Conyers. -- Rookie CB Jason Marshall Jr. had tight coverage against fellow rookie A.J. Henning. -- Tight end Tanner Conner had a nice snag on a high sideline completion from Tagovailoa. -- Erik Ezukanma failed to come down with a perfect sideline throw from Zach Wilson. -- On the first play of 11-on-11, the offensive line created a nice hole up the middle to free De'Von Achane. -- The first pass of 11-on-11s was a nice mid-range completion from Tagovailoa to Waddle. -- Chop Robinson had some pressure on Wilson, who then threw an ugly incompletion in the flat. -- Linebacker Quinton Bell had a nice sequence where he forced the running back inside twice. -- There was some sloppiness in a sequence that featured two false starts or illegal procedure penalties followed by an offside on the defense. -- Benito Jones got quick penetration on a running play. -- Jaelan Phillips led the charge in stopping a run cold on the first play of the next 11-on-11 series. -- Kohou had good coverage on an deep incompletion for Hill. -- Yet another false start for the offense. Ugh. -- Wilson had another good completion with a dart to Tanner Conner over the middle. -- Ewers dropped his arm angle for a second time in practice on a short completion to Ollie Gordon II. -- CB Ryan Cooper Jr. missed an interception when he dropped an overthrown pass by Ewers. -- Tua had a nice long completion (about 20 yards) over the middle as Hill ran across the field. -- Wilson took a deep shot for Malik Washington, but the pass into double coverage was overthrown. -- Quinton Bell, who had himself a very good practice, beat Julian Hill on a pass rush and was held. -- Kendall Sheffield, a darkhorse candidate at cornerback, had blanket coverage on Nick Westbrook-Ikhine to force an incompletion. -- Here we go again, another false start (or illegal formation) on the offense. - - And that's followed by an offside on the defense. Sloppy practice. -- Corner B.J. Adams broke up a pass intended for fellow rookie Theo Wease Jr. -- Bradley Chubb blew past Patrick Paul on a pass play and was held to keep him away from Tagovailoa.
