The Miami Dolphins took on the Philadelphia Eagles without their top two cornerbacks – Jalen Ramsey (injured reserve) and Xavien Howard (inactive with groin injury).
Despite the absences, the Dolphins still haven’t turned to rookie cornerback Cam Smith. The second-round pick hasn’t seen much defensive action this season, recording just four snaps for Vic Fangio’s unit in six games now.
Instead, Miami has opted to go with Eli Apple and Kader Kohou with Parry Nickerson and Justin Bethel getting snaps before the former Gamecock.
After the loss to the Eagles on Sunday Night Football, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was asked about the decision to keep Smith off of the field on defense.
“It’s just the natural growth (for a young player),” McDaniel said. “There are many different journeys that players take. He’s got a room of very capable players (around him). I think you have to do right by the team, and you have to do right by the player to make sure that they’re appropriately versed. The main thing with him is that he’s, by all testaments, he’s getting better and better and closer and closer to doing that, but you don’t just have guys learn on the fly at a position like that, in my opinion. Because, it’s kind of like quarterback, where you don’t want to hurt their progression by having them see the field too soon because there can be scar tissue with that.
“I really like the way that Cam goes about his business, and how he competes. He’ll see his time on the field at some point, but tonight was just not the night.”
While it may not be the best time to throw a rookie in against players like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, the Dolphins clearly needed the help entering this one. Maybe Smith could’ve been more competitive on some of the plays, preventing a first down or even a score at some point to give Miami a better chance to win.
At some point, he’s going to have to get NFL action, and there may not be a perfect opportunity for those snaps to come. McDaniel and Fangio are just going to have to trust the rookie.