August 31, 2020
The start of the regular season is inside of two weeks. Before the Dolphins travel to New England, with cut-down day looming at week's end, the Dolphins are back on the field Monday for another opportunity to get better.
Here's what's happening today in Davie.
Roster Comings and Goings
Saturday, the Dolphins traded linebacker Raekwon McMillan to the Las Vegas Raiders. Miami also sends a 2021 fifth-round pick in exchange for a fourth-round selection in the same draft.
They said it
New Dolphins center Ted Karras embodies many of the traits Brian Flores and Chris Grier look for in a player. He's tough (1,040 snaps in 2019), he's smart (only eight penalties committed over 45 starts as a pro and collegian) and he's a leader.
Karras talked Saturday about the young players in the offensive line room and the level of satisfaction he garners from serving in the mentor role.
"All these rookies -- they really come to work every day and it's been a pleasure to help them out and see them grow and as I'm trying to continue to grow myself," Karras said. "It's fun to be around these younger guys that are really working hard, and I'm really looking forward to going in the season with these guys."
Around the Beat
The scrimmage Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium came with a swift detour minutes prior to kickoff. Ryan Fitzpatrick left the field to be with his family after learning of the death of his mother, Lori Fitzpatrick.
Flores addressed the media to disclose the reason for Fitzpatrick's exit and his position with the team going forward.
Josh Tolentino of The Athletic writes:
"There's no quarterback controversy," Flores said. "He's not opting out, he's not retiring. His mom passed away. Fitz has tried to work through this. He's always wanted to practice. He tried to go out there today. I've had multiple conversations with him, having dealt with this also. It's a tough situation. Our hearts go out to him as a team. He's a competitive guy. He tried to go out there. But some things are more important than football."
Throughout training camp, Fitzpatrick has always been considered the Week 1 starter. The team drafted Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth overall selection, but Miami's plan is to groom Tagovailoa under the veteran and prepare him to possibly take over at some point this season.
Stat of the Day
Last season from Weeks 12-17, Karras graded as Pro Football Focus' No. 3 ranked pass-blocking center. The 14 pressures surrendered by Karras in 2019 were sixth-fewest among all NFL centers, with only three of those pressures resulting in a hit on the quarterback.
Dolphins On Social
On this Day in Dolphins History
August 31, 1968 – An AFL-record crowd of 68,125 descends upon the Orange Bowl to see Coach Don Shula's Baltimore Colts win an interleague game, 22-13.
Content On Tap
The Drive Time podcast returns after a day off, along with the daily Top News story on MiamiDolphins.com, presented by Baptist Health.
Plus, the latest installment of the Audible podcast drops this morning.
