Dolphins’ Tagovailoa reports to camp. Here are five unrelated concerns team now faces

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa reported to training camp on Tuesday, eliminating the extremely remote chance that he would hold out (and receive mandatory $50,000 daily fines) amid ongoing contract talks.

Whether Tagovailoa participates in all practice reps won’t be known until Wednesday, when on-field work begins.

But Tyreek Hill said Tuesday that “I believe he will practice. He’s in great spirits. He doesn’t want to miss his window.”

Receiver Jaylen Waddle said: “Tua’s a guy that loves the game. I don’t think it will be a distraction.”

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love isn’t participating in practice before his contract extension is finalized. That’s an option -- often referred to as a ‘hold in’ -- that’s available to Tagovailoa beginning on Wednesday, should he choose to go that course.

Months of negotiations on a long-term contract for Tagovailoa hadn’t resulted in a deal as of Tuesday morning.

Running back Raheem Mostert said Tagovailoa holding in “could be the right move” and said that his teammates would understand if he did.

“I think Tua is very well deserving of the opportunity to get a contract extension,” Mostert said. “He’s worked his tail off, especially since I’ve started playing with him. I’ve seen nothing but growth. And the leadership he portrays, not only for the team, but for the organization, is definitely top notch. One of the best — if not the best — leaders in the locker room and for the organization. So, with that being said, I truly believe that he deserves everything that he has coming his way — plus more. I’m just excited for him. It’s going to be a great opportunity.”

As for Hill, he’s still awaiting word from the Dolphins about whether he will receive a contract extension; he has no guaranteed money due after the 2024 season.

Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, he reiterated exactly what he told ESPN’s Laura Rutledge earlier in July -- that he wants to finish his career in Miami and has told agent Drew Rosenhaus to make sure he’s not traded.

STATE OF THE TEAM

This is a very good Dolphins roster that opened training camp on Tuesday, a team with its best offense (on paper) in two decades, a defense armed with accomplished veterans (Jalen Ramsey, Calais Campbell, on-the-mend Bradley Chubb) and a nice blend of youth and experience.

They should be in the playoffs and they seem good enough to win one playoff game, possibly even two if they earn homefield advantage and a decent draw in the divisional round.

But here are my top five concerns, in order, that would keep me from betting anything significant that they’ll definitely be in the playoffs:

▪ No. 3 cornerback:

Nickel cornerbacks traditionally play more than half a team’s defensive snaps, and the Dolphins cannot enter camp with any great confidence about what they will get from the player who wins that job.

Kader Kohou, the front-runner for the job based on experience, told The Miami Herald that he was “terrible” last season.

His 133.4 passer rating against was second worst among cornerbacks targeted at least 50 times, ahead of only New England’s Marco Wilson. His 721 passing yards permitted were sixth most in the league among cornerbacks.

Somewhere inside Kohou is the 2022 rookie revelation who allowed a sterling 80.7 passer rating in his coverage area and intercepted Aaron Rodgers on Christmas Day in 2022. But can that player be extracted after a sophomore slump?

If not, can 2023 second-rounder Cam Smith - who’s fighting for the top boundary cornerback backup job - move past the practice-reps inconsistency that concerned former coordinator Vic Fangio to the point that he played undrafted Ethan Bonner ahead of him in the playoff game?

If not, will Nik Needham -- now 21 months removed from an Achilles’ tendon injury -- seize the No. 3 job after spending part of this offseason at safety? Can Bonner become a viable No. 3 or No. 4 cornerback?

The concern about the roster’s backup corners will be amplified if none of them emerges in camp, or if Ramsey or Kendall Fuller misses time with an injury.

The Dolphins always can try to find a cornerback on the street in August, as they did with Eli Apple last July. If Xavien Howard doesn’t sign anywhere and the team’s young corners struggle in camp, Howard should not be ruled out.

▪ Pass rush until Chubb and Jaelan Phillips are back at full strength:

Both begin camp on the physically unable to perform list, with Phillips seemingly closer to game action. Until both are cleared, the question is whether Miami has enough at outside linebacker among Emmanuel Ogbah (who was re-signed on Tuesday) and rookies Chop Robinson and Mo Kamara.

It’s impossible to know because of youth (in Robinson’s and Kamara’s case) and the uncertainty of whether Ogbah can regain his 2020/2021 form before being marginalized last season by former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

Though Robinson was sixth in the nation in pass block win rate at Penn State last season, he had only two sacks all year against Power 5 teams (Iowa and Rutgers). That production won’t be good enough if he’s a starter or a No. 3 end in September.

The Dolphins need the rookies and Ogbah to deliver consistent heat on the quarterback to generate enough pass rush until Phillips (Nov. 24 torn Achilles) and Chubb (Dec. 31 torn ACL) are back to themselves. Trevor Lawrence and Josh Allen await in Weeks 1 and 2.

▪ Age of some key players:

Players’ bodies often begin to break down and production declines when they get into their mid 30s, Tom Brady and a few others notwithstanding.

That’s at least somewhat of a concern with new safety Jordan Poyer (33), new starting defensive lineman Campbell (37) and Terron Armstead, who turned 33 on Tuesday.

Will Odell Beckham, at 31, create the same separation from defenders that he once did? At least there’s no sign that superhuman Hill, at 30, has lost anything.

▪ Offensive line concerns:

Though the Dolphins gave up the fourth fewest sacks and led the league in rushing yards average, they converted only 5 of 11 rushing attempts on 3rd and 1; that 45.5 percentage was worst in the league.

The Dolphins downgraded at center in moving from Connor Williams to Aaron Brewer and at right guard from Robert Hunt to Liam Eichenberg or Jack Driscoll.

Both of those moves were seemingly unavoidable, because Hunt’s five-year, $100 million contract was far beyond what the Dolphins could do under the salary cap, and because Williams began free agency unsure if he would even play this season after last December’s devastating knee injury.

Brewer will be effective in Miami’s zone blocking scheme; he’s well suited for Miami’s system. The concern is Brewer permitted six sacks (second most among centers, compared with one allowed by Williams) and 34 pressures (third most) in 622 pass blocking snaps last season, per PFF.

Though Tagovailoa’s quick release can mask offensive line shortcomings to an extent, that might not save his body if a behemoth defensive tackle overpowers Brewer and sacks Tagovailoa just after the snap.

The hope is that assistant coach Butch Barry - who did good work with the Dolphins offensive line last year - can improve Brewer’s pass protection from a technique standpoint.

Then there’s the health concern with the left side of the line. Armstead, entering year 12, has never played a full season and logged 8, 13 and 10 games the past three years.

Isaiah Wynn, who was very good at left guard last year before a season-ending injury in Week 7, has played more than 10 games in a season once in five years because of assorted injuries (toes, knee, feet). He will begin training camp on the physically unable to perform list.

So there are a lot of ifs with this group -- if Armstead and Wynn stay healthy, if Brewer suddenly becomes much better in pass protection, if Driscoll or Eichenberg emerges at right guard.

▪ Better competition:

Two teams that missed the playoffs last season get their quarterbacks back and will be formidable challengers – Cincinnati (Joe Burrow) and the Jets (Rodgers).

Even if you brush off the Jets, and plug in the Bengals, that means at least one AFC team that made last year’s playoffs won’t make it this season. And that doesn’t even factor in Jacksonville, which won a playoff game 18 months ago.

All of last year’s AFC playoff teams – Baltimore, Kansas City, Miami, Houston, Cleveland, Buffalo and Pittsburgh - remain formidable, though the Bills had some veteran losses headlined by Stefon Diggs’ trade to Houston.

Three of those teams are likely better: the Texans and Steelers (who went from Kenny Pickett to Russell Wilson/Justin Fields at quarterback) and Cleveland (with Deshaun Watson’s return from his November injury). That leaves Miami somewhat at risk.