What changed for Chop Robinson and the plan for this week. And Dolphins personnel notes

A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Wednesday:

▪ After being held out of the preseason opener with a minor injury, Dolphins rookie outside linebacker Chop Robinson said he will be making his NFL game debut Saturday against Washington, against a team he grew up watching (but not rooting for) as a youngster in Maryland.

And he comes into that game (and Thursday’s joint practice with Washington) riding the momentum of a strong past 10 days. Besides generating pressure on the quarterback, Robinson has done much better work setting the edge in the run game during the past half dozen practices.

Robinson said Wednesday that coaches have told him they have seen improvement in “my hands in setting the edge. Sometimes I could set the edge [in the past by] using my shoulders. But getting off the ball with my speed, getting my hands inside the tight end or the tackle and be able to set it and go from two hands to one hand, I’ve been good with that and learned that from coach [Ryan] Crow and coach [Austin] Clark and everybody… I got the whole playbook down so I’m understanding everything.”

Robinson grew up in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which is 36 miles from where the Commanders play in Landover.

Robinson was a Baltimore Ravens fan growing up, during the era of Joe Flacco, Ray Rice and Anquan Boldin.

“My dad was a big Commanders fan,” Robinson said. “My grandparents are Commanders fans. I grew up around that area.”

Much of that family will be at Saturday’s game to watch Robinson’s NFL debut.

“My dad, all my family is coming down, my siblings,” he said.

Robinson assured reporters that his father, despite being a Commanders fan, will be wearing a Dolphins jersey at Saturday’s preseason game at Hard Rock Stadium (7 p.m., CBS 4).

When Robinson transferred from Maryland to Penn State after his freshman season, “a lot of people were frustrated. But the real ones still wished the best for me. It turned out to be the best thing for me.”

▪ Dolphins edge player Jaelan Phillips, looking spry and thoroughly involved in practice after coming off the physically unable to perform list on Monday, mentioned good-naturedly this week that Robinson “doesn’t even celebrate. I’m trying to get him to be a little more emotive. When he makes a big play or [tackle for loss] or whatever, that’s kind of the standard, which is an amazing thing.”

Why is Robinson reserved like that?

“That’s just how I am,” he said. “I’m a next play mentality type of guy. JP is getting it out of me. I made a few plays against the Falcons in the joint practice [last week]. I was getting a little excited. He said, ‘I need more of that.’ The more I get confident making plays, the more stuff with come out.”

Robinson has a “chop celebration” up his sleeve. “Once I showed [Phillips] my chop celebration, he was like, ‘When you get that sack I want to see that.’ Or he’s going to be mad” otherwise,” Robinson said.

If Robinson gets a sack in preseason, will it count as far as he’s concerned? “It doesn’t count,” Robinson said. “Once the regular season comes, it will count.”

▪ Fullback Alec Ingold, asked if there are new elements to the offense in the third season with coach Mike McDaniel, said: “We are testing the limits of this offense. We’re in the lab. There is no comfort in the offense….

“Being able to blend all these formations, all these personnel groups… It’s been fun, it’s been challenging. You’re only a couple weeks in and you feel like you’ve been playing for three months.”

▪ Ingold on new tight end Jonnu Smith, the NFL’s tight end leader in yards after catch (YAC) the past five years: “The tight end room, Julian [Hill], we’re giving those guys some crap for being like ‘team no YAC.’ Jonnu is going to be one of those guys where he can get the ball in a million different ways.

“The most exciting thing is the different creativity you’re going to see out of the offense. Getting [Smith] the ball in space, we’ve seen a number of times where he has run it through contact. He’s been a great addition.”

Besides being a weapon in the passing game, Smith has been very productive when he has taken a few handoffs during training camp.

▪ Second-year player Hill has had a very good camp, solidifying his position as the No. 3 tight end.

Tight ends coach Jon Embree gave Hill an offseason project:

“He asked me to watch [49ers Pro Bowl tight end] George Kittle. He’s one of the best blocking tight ends in the league. Watch him in his route game, watch him in his run blocking. They have a very similar offense. He’s a similar play style, similar body.”

Embree’s other instructions to Hill, according to Hill: “Work on my second step in the run game. Work on getting off the ball. Work on eye discipline when my hands are catching the ball. A lot of times we always want to get upfield and make a play — focus on catching the ball [first]. A lot of stuff is working out, paying off.”

Scoring his first NFL touchdown “would mean everything,” Hill said. “In college [at Campbell], I didn’t catch my first touchdown until my senior year of college.”

Where has his game improved? “Trusting myself,.. trusting my work. That’s something coach McDaniel talks a lot with me… I can do anything I set my mind to. I work very hard.”

The players battling for a potential No. 4 tight end job — Jody Fortson Jr. and Tanner Conner — have both been sidelined by injury this season.

But Durham Smythe, Smith and Hill should be a very solid top three at the position.

▪ As it turns out, Dolphins rookies Tahj Washington and Grayson Murphy and veteran linebacker Cam Brown aren’t eligible to return this season from injured reserve.

The league slightly altered its injured reserve policy this season, allowing teams to bring back two players who are placed on injured reserve before 53-man rosters are set. But those players must be placed on injured reserve in late August, while the final roster is being set.

Eight players, in total, can return to a team from injured reserve this season, and an additional two can return in postseason. But those players must sit out a minimum of four games before being eligible to return from IR.