Day 1 Dolphins practice report: Who impressed, who did not and more observations

Notes and nuggets from the Dolphins’ first training camp session on Wednesday:

▪ Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who is limiting his practice participation amid ongoing contract negotiations, participated in two plays in 11-on-11 work, and both were handoffs.

Coach Mike McDaniel indicated before practice that he expected Tagovailoa’s participation in Wednesday’s first camp session to be similar to what he did in the offseason program, when he did not participate in 11-on-11 drills because of contract talks.

Tagovailoa wants a lucrative deal to replace his fifth-year option, which will pay him $23.1 million this season. McDaniel said the situation is “fluid.”

Tagovailoa worked in 7-on-7 drills; his first completion went to Tyreek Hill. He also made a nice sideline throw to Erik Ezukanma.

Second-year edge linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh, who missed his rookie season with an injury, intercepted Tagovailoa’s pass to tight end Tanner Conner, but that wasn’t Tagovailoa’s fault. The ball was bobbled by Conner and deflected into the air.

▪ The defense dominated the practice, which featured more-than-desired work from No. 4 quarterback Gavin Hardison, who doesn’t seem to have a good mastery of the offense.

After practice, offensive line coach Butch Barry verbally reprimanded his players.

▪ Some defensive notes: Safety Jevon Holland missed some reps - and was attended to by his trainers - after a collision with Malik Washington. But if Holland was hurt, it didn’t appear serious...

Safety Marcus Maye, signed in May, dropped an interception from undrafted UTEP rookie quarterback Hardison.. UCLA edge rusher Grayson Murphy had a sack of Hardison on what seemed to be a botched handoff….

Linebacker Quinton Bell had a nice deflection at the line of scrimmage… Second-year defensive tackle Brandon Pili appeared to sack Hardison (there’s no tackling) but Hardison scrambled around and threw a pass that Jordan Poyer intercepted.

Former Bills cornerback Siran Neal, who will be a core special teams player for Miami, picked off Hardison on the next play. …

Poyer made contact with Jaylen Waddle on a pass from Mike White…. Kendall Fuller deflected a pass to Hill on 11-on-11s… Emmanuel Ognah had a sack of White in 11-on-11s.

▪ Some offensive notes:

Skylar Thompson delivered a nice slant to Hill for a first down.. De’Von Achane had a nifty run to the left side; he weaved through the interior defensive line....

Waddle and Hill both had good days catching passes...

River Cracraft caught a slant from Hardison to end practice.

▪ Ogbah, who is working with the edge players and not the defensive linemen after signing with Miami on Tuesday, looks a little heavier than normal. But what can we realistically expect from someone who didn’t have a team until two days ago? And he had a sack on the first day of practice.

▪ Even though McDaniel said Terron Armstead is in phenomenal shape and healthy, the Dolphins starting left tackle wasn’t on the field for the first practice. Kendall Lamm and rookie Patrick Paul will likely handle the left tackle workload until Armstead is taken out of bubble wrap.

▪ New Dolphins defensive lineman Calais Campbell is massive, but his movement is slow. We’re not sure if he’s pacing himself, or showing his age (37).

▪ New defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver spent the individual periods of practice with the edge rushers and gave rookie first-round pick Chop Robinson some pointers on his technique.

▪ Jevon Holland did a somersault covering a Tagovailoa pass to Malik Washington. Got banged up a little but gave the team a thumbs-up.

Miami Herald sportswriter Barry Jackson contributed to this report.

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