Injury to Dolphins top pick Cam Smith is ‘not long-term at all,’ Mike McDaniel says
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MIAMI GARDENS — Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Sunday that he doesn’t expect top draft pick Cam Smith to miss extended time because of an injury suffered in the preseason opener against Atlanta.
Smith, who injured his shoulder during the 19-3 loss Friday night, participated in Sunday’s practice on a limited basis. Smith did not wear a red, non-contact jersey but sat out 11-on-11 drills.
“The timeline is a little gray but it’s not long-term at all,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said he couldn’t even rule out Smith playing in one of the two remaining preseason games, starting with Saturday at Houston.
“Those are still open for sure,” he said.
O.J. McDuffie says Dolphins receivers Hill-Waddle on par with Marks Brothers
Smith’s status is key because, as a second-round draft pick, the Dolphins would like to get him up to speed sooner rather than later. Fellow cornerback Jalen Ramsey is out an extended time following meniscus surgery.
Meanwhile, the secondary went through more change as cornerback Mark Gilbert was waived/injured and Jamal Perry was re-signed. Since the start of training camp, the Dolphins have added five defensive backs, most notably veteran Eli Apple after Ramsey went down.
Receiver Jaylen Waddle continues to recover from an abdominal injury suffered in practice last week.
“He rarely misses time,” McDaniel said. “He’s so tough. So we’re just trying to protect him against himself and being conservative with it. … I’m not concerned.”
Receiver Braxton Berrios required stitches around his forehead.
Dolphins rookie cornerback Cam Smith was in obvious pain during the second half of Friday night’s preseason loss to the Falcons.
“The only thing that’s impeding him playing football is the stitches healing,” McDaniel said. “It’s right where the helmet lining is, so instead of having that guy that every time he plays football bleeds all over his face, we have to wait a couple of days to let that heal.”
Perry, 28, appeared in 31 games, starting seven, for the Dolphins from 2019-21. He has one career interception and 86 tackles.
Receivers swapped as Freddie Swain is waived
The Dolphins also made a swap at receiver. Freddie Swain was waived injured and Keke Coutee was signed.
Coutee, 26, was a fourth-round pick out of Texas Tech in 2018 by the Texans, so when the team travels to Houston this week for joint practices and the preseason game, he’ll be in familiar surroundings.
Coutee, who is 5-feet-11 and 180 pounds, has career totals of 85 receptions for 966 yards and four touchdowns for Houston and Indianapolis. He most recently was in New Orleans’ camp.
Mike McDaniel: Offensive line is progressing
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel during a preseason game at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday, August 11, 2023, in Miami Gardens, FL.
It’s no secret that much of the offensive line’s success or failure revolves around right tackle Austin Jackson and left guard Liam Eichenberg, if they both retain starting roles.
McDaniel said he told Jackson he was “so fired up” over a missed assignment in the Falcons game because it’s a sign of how far Jackson has come.
“This dude has gone all in and what happens when you go all in and you’re putting your best foot forward? You tend to care a lot,” McDaniel said.
So why was McDaniel so upbeat?
“What was awesome is he kept his technique,” McDaniel said. “He ended up responding immediately and had some really good pass protection and then run blocks. That’s what you’re looking for.”
And Eichenberg?
“He had a cool week because he had some really good things and some things that frustrated him,” McDaniel said. “And what I saw was a deliberate approach, better technique than last year, and he played not scared.”
Despite the shuffling of personnel because it is preseason, there’s still work to do. The line allowed five sacks to the Falcons. On the plus side, the Dolphins averaged 6.5 yards per rush, finishing with 168 yards on 26 attempts.
Noteworthy from Sunday’s practice
The Dolphins held a short workout indoors Sunday.
Observations, primarily from 11-on-11 drills, with Tua Tagovailoa taking all of the snaps as backups Mike White and Skylar Thompson were reduced to spectating:
McDaniel said no one wore the orange jersey for the final workout with the Falcons last week because it could have been construed as making a statement that the player in orange had dominated his counterpart on the Falcons the previous day. McDaniel said he didn’t think it proper to “put a bull’s-eye” on anyone by proclaiming him the practice player of the day in orange.
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com and followed on Twitter @gunnerhal.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cam Smith, on the mend, plays limited role in Dolphins practice