Notes from Day 1 of Dolphins-Buccaneers joint practices

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The Miami Dolphins are participating in joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the AdventHealth Training Center this week after heading down on Monday and doing some team bonding.

The two teams will face each other on Saturday for a preseason matchup that will not feature quarterback Tom Brady, so this will be a great opportunity for Miami to see how their team stacks up against some of the top competition in the NFL.

Here’s what we learned from the first day of joint practices with the Buccaneers.

Player Participation

Center Michael Deiter was back at practice after dealing with a foot injury. Defensive backs Clayton Fejedelem and Elijah Campbell also returned.

Safety Sheldrick Redwine, once again, didn’t participate.

Keion Crossen continues to impress

When the Dolphins released their first depth chart of the preseason, there was some surprise that Crossen was as high as he was. Without Byron Jones, who’s currently on PUP, Crossen was listed as the third cornerback, ahead of Noah Igbinoghene and Trill Williams.

According to those in attendance for this first joint practice, Crossen showed exactly why that was.

Didn't look like reps against Miami helped Noah Igbinoghene

With Jones out, there was some hope that Igbinoghene getting more opportunities against Miami’s better receivers would help prepare for other offenses. It doesn’t appear that’s been the case through one session, as he was beaten quite a few times, including one for the final play defensive play of two-minute.

Defense was getting to Brady

The Dolphins’ strong suit should be their defense, as they were one of the best units in the league over the second half of 2021 and didn’t lose any key contributors this offseason. In this practice, the pressure was getting to Brady, and it was affecting his body language and attitude.

Going up against Tampa Bay’s backup center, Robert Hainey, who was also carted off at the end of the session, Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler made their presence known.

Quarterback peformances

Eyes are always on Tua Tagovailoa, and according to those in attendance today, Tagovailoa wasn’t shooting deep as much as he had against his own defense, but he still looked decent.

Teddy Bridgewater was intercepted twice. Both times Bridgewater was targeting Preston Williams, and one of them was even tipped by the wide receiver.

 

Story originally appeared on Dolphins Wire