Dolphins Stock Report (Day 8): Raheem Mostert adds another slight to his list for motivation

Raheem Mostert is the type of athlete, and person who seeks out every little slight he can find to add fuel to his tank.

So just imagine how Mostert took coming off his best NFL season in 10-years, where the Pro Bowler set franchise records for touchdowns scored in the NFL’s No. 1 offense, was the second most productive tailback in the entire NFL, behind only San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey, but only got rated as the league’s 60th best player by his peers.

“It was pretty [low],” Mostert said of his standing on the NFL Network’s top 100 player rankings, which comes out annually this time of year. “I was a little distraught because I thought I was going to be a little bit [higher], but honestly, it just gives me more motivation to work even harder.

“I did what I did last year, but now it’s time to move on,” said Mostert, who rushed for 1,012 yards and scored 18 touchdowns on 209 carries he had in the 15 games played. “It’s Year 2024, and I got bigger and better things that I want to get accomplished.

“I want to help this team as much as I possibly can because it’s gonna be nice to have a championship down here in South Florida.”

Mostert’s one of the many mature veterans placed on a maintenance program this training camp, which means his participation is significantly limited, and he’s forced to take days off. But the 31-year old worked on Friday and has some respectable runs while working with Tua Tagovailoa and the first team offensive line.

However, he did fumble at the end of one of those runs when Jevon Holland and Elijah Campbell popped him during the padded practice and the football got loose and was recovered by Holland.

TOP PERFORMER

Stock Up

Holland has a habit of getting his hands on the football during training camp, and that was the case on Friday when he recovered a fumble he possibly caused at the end of a run from Mostert. Holland also harassed the quarterback, rushing a handful of throws from on safety blitzes that were a finger snap shy of getting home in time to produce a possible sack.

Quinton Bell’s practicing like a dog who hasn’t eaten in a week that just found a bone. The odds of him relinquishing one of the starting edge spots before next Friday’s preseason opener against Atlanta are slim because of how effective he’s been at setting the edge, and getting after the quarterback. Bell, who was on Miami’s practice squad last season, has been one of camp’s most pleasant surprises no matter whom he lines up against.

Stock Down

The Dolphins signed Teair Tart with the hope that he’d show the nastiness that made him a starter in Tennessee, before he fell out of favor with the Titans and secured the release he sought late last season. That hasn’t happened in training camp’s first eight practices, and during Friday’s padded session there was a sense Tart was pacing himself. That’s likely why Benito Jones presently holds the lead when it comes to filling the starting nose tackle role.

It’s time to put out an A.P.B. searching for Jody Fortson Jr. The former Kansas City Chiefs tight end the Dolphins signed in free agency has had a quiet camp, sparingly making plays during team periods. And when he has been targeted he’s dropped a pass or two. At this point it’s pretty safe to assume Fortson is behind everyone but undrafted rookie Hayden Rucci on the Dolphins’ depth chart. Maybe the possibility that he’s nursing another injury is why he’s had a quiet camp, but he’s dressed and invisible most days.

TAKEAWAY FROM THE DAY

The field was showered with penalty flags on Friday, the second practice the Dolphins used officials during training camp. If what happened in practice happened in a game the telecast would probably last five hours because Miami was plagued by false start, offsides, illegal procedure, holding, and pass interference calls. Mike McDaniel has to talk to his team about cleaning up the undisciplined play.

WHAT THEY SAID

“The one thing we need to do collectively to kind of stamp his career is get to New Orleans and win a Super Bowl, and hopefully we can get that done,” Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Walker said of Calais Campbell, the 17-year veteran who has embraced a leadership role with the Dolphins.