Dolphins practice report: Tyreek Hill with hand issue, injury updates and who impressed

News, notes and observations from Tuesday’s Dolphins session, their final training camp practice in Miami Gardens in 2024:

▪ Star receiver Tyreek Hill was wearing a protective brace on his right hand. He did some on-field work during individual drills but didn’t catch any passes in practice.

If the injury were serious, he likely would not have been involved in individual parts of practice. So it’s encouraging that Hill participated in parts of practice.

It’s unclear when Hill was injured; he didn’t play in Friday’s preseason game.

Mike McDaniel assuredly will be asked about this on Wednesday in Tampa.

▪ Several players on defense were not practicing: cornerback Cam Smith (hamstring; he’s week to week), linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. (who has missed most of camp), edge player Emmanuel Ogbah, defensive tackle Benito Jones (who has missed nearly two weeks) and safety Jevon Holland, who also has missed about two weeks.

The injuries for Walker, Jones, Ogbah and Holland have not been identified; teams aren’t required to specify injuries until Sept. 4.

▪ Several players on offense were not practicing: Hill (hand), receiver Jaylen Waddle (who has now missed two weeks with something McDaniel has called minor); running back Chris Brooks (concussion protocol); receiver River Cracraft (expected to miss significant time with a shoulder injury); receiver Braylon Sanders (upper body injury; he’s week to week); tight end Tanner Connor (who has been out since seemingly injuring his ribs in the first preseason game); center Aaron Brewer (hand; week to week) and tackle Kendall Lamm (his injury is unknown).

Two players on offense remain on the physically unable to perform list and thus aren’t permitted to practice: receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and guard Isaiah Wynn.

▪ The Dolphins got two cornerbacks back on Tuesday when Jalen Ramsey returned to practice after missing a week with an undisclosed injury, and Ethan Bonner also returned after missing a week with concussion symptoms. Bonner was wearing a red non-contact jersey. Ramsey participated in 11 on 11 work.

Safety Jordan Poyer, who had missed nearly three weeks, practiced with a cast on his hand and made a stop in 11 on 11 work. Poyer said he fractured a thumb in the fifth or sixth practice of training camp.

Also back after missing a week: running back Jeff Wilson Jr., who has been dealing with an injury to his nose. And receiver Anthony Schwartz returned to practice after missing two weeks.

▪ Two players on offense wore red non-contact jerseys: tight end Jody Forston Jr., who missed last week with a stinger; and rookie running back Jaylen Wright, who sat out last week with something that McDaniel suggested was minor. Wright is wearing a compression sleeve on his right leg.

▪ Left tackle Terron Armstead practiced on Tuesday; his participation has been monitored to protect his health.

▪ Linebacker Curtis Bolton, trying to earn a roster spot, was an absolute menace during a three-minute stretch, making three consecutive big plays.

On the first one, Bolton forced a Wright fumble on a short completion from Skylar Thompson. Rookie cornerback Jason Maitre recovered it and would have returned it for a touchdown if the play had been permitted to continue.

Bolton then sacked Thompson on the next play. And Bolton then forced another fumble on a catch by Jonnu Smith.

▪ Tua Tagovailoa overthrew Malik Washington during the early stages of 11 on 11 work and later tripped over Liam Eichenberg after Calais Campbell blocked Eichenberg backward.

But Tagovailoa had some good moments, including a TD throw to Durham Smythe in the back of the end zone. And he scrambled for a decent game, with Jaelan Phillips in pursuit.

▪ Wright had a nice inside run, but the defense can’t do much with him because he’s wearing the non-contact jersey.

▪ Brandon Pili flushed Tagovailoa out of the pocket, limiting him to a short gain on a run. Pili is making a strong case for the No. 2 nose tackle job. Isaiah Mack, who also has had a good camp, forced Tagovailoa to run out of bounds on another play.

▪ Defensive tackle Zach Sieler had a tackle for loss on a running play. Sieler has had an excellent camp.

▪ Neville Gallimore, one of seven defensive tackles competing for two or three jobs, had a tackle for loss on a running play.

▪ Thompson overthrew a wide open Erik Ekuzanma for what should have been a touchdown.

▪ Tagovailoa hit Braxton Berrios on two passes. Berrios’ role in the offense could increase in the wake of Cracraft’s injury.

▪ The Dolphins will hold a joint practice with the Buccaneers in Tampa on Wednesday. That will be Miami’s final training camp practice this year and the final practice fully open to reporters until May 2025.