Tag: Hunter Long

Dolphins TE Hunter Long enters NFL’s concussion protocol

It’s unclear when he’ll return to action.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, the Miami Dolphins came out of a contest without an abundance of injuries.

However, they didn’t make it through their win over the Chicago Bears completely unscathed, as head coach Mike McDaniel informed the media on Monday that tight end Hunter Long has entered the NFL’s concussion protocol.

The second-year tight end played just 12 total snaps (six offensive and six on special teams) on Sunday. He’s yet to have a target in McDaniel’s system.

If Long is forced to miss time, the Dolphins will continue to rely on Mike Gesicki and Durham Smythe, but undrafted rookie Tanner Conner, who has been playing mostly on special teams, could see a bump in his opportunities as well.

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Dolphins downgrade TE Hunter Long to out vs. Ravens

Miami’s now down two tight ends for Sunday.

On Saturday, the Miami Dolphins announced a few roster moves prior to their Week 2 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, and among those moves was the announcement that tight end Hunter Long didn’t travel with the team and is out for the game.

Long popped up on the injury report on Friday as a limited participant with an ankle injury and had been deemed questionable to go on Sunday.

With Cethan Carter (concussion) also out and Tanner Conner dealing with a bit of a knee injury, the Dolphins will likely have to rely heavily on Mike Gesicki and Durham Smythe. Luckily, they’re the top two tight ends on the depth chart, but if one of them goes down, this offense could lose more firepower.

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Dolphins WR and TE ratings in Madden NFL 23

EA Sports released the first positional rankings

As we’re all collectively crossing the end of another long offseason in the coming weeks, football fans are looking forward to the newest installment of the Madden video game series.

We’ve seen some early looks of new Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel in the game, and it doesn’t look half bad. However, everyone knows the gameplay and the ratings are the aspects of the game that are much more important and frequently discussed.

On Monday, EA Sports, the publishers of the game, released the wide receivers and tight end ratings for Madden NFL 23, and the Dolphins have a top 10 player at each position.

Here’s a look at most of Miami’s wide receiver and tight end ratings for launch and how they compare to other players at the same position:

  • Tyreek Hill – 96 overall (No. 3 WR)
  • Mike Gesicki – 86 overall (No. 7 TE)
  • Jaylen Waddle – 84 overall (t-No. 27 WR)
  • Cedrick Wilson Jr. – 75 overall (t-No. 85 WR)
  • Preston Williams – 72 overall (t-No. 120 WR)
  • Lynn Bowden Jr. – 70 overall (t-No. 148 WR)
  • Adam Shaheen – 68 overall (t- No. 56 TE)
  • Durham Smythe – 68 overall (t- No. 56 TE)
  • Trent Sherfield – 68 overall (t-No. 190 WR)
  • Cody Core – 67 overall (t-No. 208 WR)
  • Hunter Long – 66 overall (t-No. 69 TE)
  • Erik Ezukanma – 66 overall (t-No. 223 WR)
  • River Cracraft – 65 overall (t-No. 241 WR)

There will be more ratings coming out before the game’s release on August 19.

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2022 Dolphins positional preview: No big changes at TE this year

The only new face is UDFA Tanner Conner.

The Miami Dolphins are preparing for the start of Mike McDaniel’s first training camp as a head coach in the next few weeks. Once the team returns to Miami Gardens, they will begin competing against each other in practice and a couple of other teams (Philadelphia and Tampa Bay) in joint practice sessions.

For now, it’s time to assess the roster and see where the team stands at each and every position.

After looking at quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers earlier this week, we’ll discuss the tight end group that hasn’t had many changes to it from the end of last season.

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Grading the Miami Dolphins tight ends after their 2021 season

Miami got some solid performances from tight ends this year.

The Miami Dolphins have ended their 2021 season with a winning record, but they missed the postseason yet again and fired their head coach.

Now, it’s time to reflect and talk about the players who impacted the outcomes on the field.

We’ll be going through different positions over the next week or so and reviewing how they played in 2021. After starting with the rookies, quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers, we’ll take a look at the guys who tend to work the middle of the field and help with some blocking. These are the grades for the Dolphins tight ends during this campaign.

Grading the Dolphins 2021 rookie class after their first year

Overall, the rookies were solid this year.

The Miami Dolphins finished their 2021 season with a 9-8 record and just outside of the postseason for the second straight year.

While a lot of the attention since then has been on ownership and the front office with the firing of Brian Flores, and rightfully so, there still needs to be some reflection about the play of the guys on the field.

We’ll be going through different positions over the next week or so and reviewing how they played in 2021, but we’re starting with the young guys. These are the grades for the Dolphins rookies after their first season in the NFL.

Report: TE Hunter Long’s injury not believed to be season-ending

Report: TE Hunter Long’s injury not believed to be season-ending

The Miami Dolphins quite clearly have big plans for tight end Hunter Long after choosing to draft him in the 3rd-round of the 2021 NFL draft. Miami’s decision came despite already having three capable NFL players in the room from the 2020 season and a free agent addition of another hybrid player who can contribute in similar ways. So for all of that to be true and Miami to still draft Long, it should tell you plenty about what Miami things of the former Boston College player.

But one thing we don’t know about Long these days is what his availability is going to look like moving forward — Long was carted off the practice field over the weekend in Miami’s first major injury scare. And with Brian Flores always being reluctant to talk about players’ personal or medical situations, one would assume Miami will string out the status of Hunter Long for as long as they need to; both for competitive advantage and privacy reasons.

But Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post has provided a promising report on the updated condition of Long after his weekend injury — Schad reports that the injury is not believed to be season-ending.

Such would be a big win for the Dolphins as they look to maintain as much depth in the passing offense as they possibly can. If the Dolphins can slowly phase Long into reps down the stretch after he takes whatever time he needs to heal from this injury, the team can consider that a bonus. Perhaps Long will need to start the year on Injured Reserve or the PUP list. Either way, it sounds like the team is hopeful Long’s rookie season isn’t over before it began — and that those high hopes for Long are still in play for Miami for this 2021 season and not just down the road.

Dolphins rookie TE Hunter Long carted off after practice injury

Dolphins rookie TE Hunter Long carted off after practice injury

It appears as though the Miami Dolphins may have suffered their first significant injury of the 2021 season. The Dolphins have seen plenty of players dinged up and miss time thus far in camp — DeVante Parker, Will Fuller, Jaelan Phillips, Xavien Howard and others are just a handful of names who had bumps and bruises to either open camp or been endured along the way.

But the dreaded cart has made an appearance at Baptist Health Training Complex, an ominous sign for any player it arrives for.

In the case of the Miami Dolphins today, rookie tight end Hunter Long reportedly got shoved out of play during an 11 on 11 period and crumpled to the field, where trainers inspected his left knee before loading him onto the cart. Long reportedly could not put any weight on his leg in the immediate aftermath of the injury.

This has the potential to be a tough blow for the Dolphins; as the team clearly had visions for the Boston College product when they drafted him with a top-100 pick and spurned other potential positions of need. If Long is forced to miss any significant amount of time, the Dolphins will fall back onto the incumbents of 2020: Mike Gesicki, Adam Shaheen and Durham Smythe.

The good news if that is the case is that the 2020 Dolphins tight end room was one of the most productive receiving groups in the history of the franchise at the tight end position.

We’ll wait for now until we get more information about Long’s injury. This is obviously going to be a developing story and one that has implications on the Dolphins’ active roster and distribution of snaps among the team’s tight end group. The Dolphins will undoubtedly be hoping for more of a scare than anything else.

Dolphins ink rookie TE Hunter Long to deal on verge of training camp

Dolphins ink rookie TE Hunter Long to deal on verge of training camp

And then there was one. The Miami Dolphins pushed their 2021 rookie class one player closer to being completely signed on Friday when they inked 2nd-round selection Jevon Holland to his rookie deal — and today made another step towards a completely signed rookie class with the announcement of a contract with TE Hunter Long.

Long, who was the team’s 3rd-round choice in this past April’s NFL draft, is expected to be a prominent contender among the Dolphins’ crowded tight end room.

Long’s addition seems to offer an ominous tone to the other tight ends on the roster; including two incumbent players who are entering the 2021 season entering into contract years. Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki is more of a big slot receiver than a true tight end based on his usage with the team, but Miami faces a challenging decision with him in the coming year. Durham Smythe, drafted in the same class as Gesicki, is more of a true tight end and plays a traditional hand in the dirt role — what we should expect to see from Hunter Long as he develops as a member of the team.

And with Miami’s next round of roster cuts looming in just over a month for the start of the regular season, the competition in the coming weeks will be fascinating to see play out. How quickly Long assimilates himself to that room will likely go a long way in determining who is cut from the Dolphins’ tight end room at the start of the season. If Long proves himself ready for a role immediately, it may make Smythe expendable and allow the Dolphins to save a reasonable amount of money against the cap.

But quickly transitions for tight ends are more the exception to the rule when coming from college to the NFL — and so we’ll need to see what Long does throughout camp and the preseason before making any confident forecasts for the group this season.

NFL Network forecasts Hunter Long as 5th most productive rookie TE

NFL Network forecasts Hunter Long as 5th most productive rookie TE

The Miami Dolphins made a surprising selection in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft when they opted to forego drafting a running back or linebacker and instead committed to drafting a tight end. Boston College product Hunter Long had his name called for Miami and he brings with him to the Dolphins some added pressure due to fan scrutiny over the team’s decision to forego a ball carrier. Fair or not, it will always be a selection looked at through that perspective — at least until Long silences the doubters.

Can he do so as early as this season?

NFL Network’s Cynthia Frelund has released her projections for the 5 most productive rookie tight ends for the 2021 NFL season courtesy of her ‘Game Theory’ model and, sure enough, Long made the cut. He is listed as Frelund’s No. 5 tight end for the 2021 season from this year’s rookie class.

“Long is my second-highest ranked rookie tight end when it comes to win share. However, this article focuses on production in fantasy football categories, so he slides a bit in the forecast because of the pass-catching situation he finds himself in (with Will Fuller, Mike Gesicki, DeVante Parker and Jaylen Waddle also competing for opportunities). However, Long was targeted 17 times in one game at Boston College — and PFF gave him an impressive 83.2 pass game grade last season — so it’s not hard to see his pass-catching potential. On passing downs where the target was in the middle third of the field, Long was able to create separation of at least three feet at the second-highest rate last season among Power Five tight ends. Given his strong performance in blocking and spatial metrics, Long’s versatility helps project usage in the NFL. Being on the field doesn’t ensure fantasy gold, but it’s certainly a good starting point and helps drive value for the entire offense.” — Cynthia Frelund, NFL.com

Long will need to beat out competition from Durham Smythe and Adam Shaheen if he’s going to gobble up snaps at a significant rate this season, but as Frelund points out, his experience with his hand in the dirt gives him a rare advantage over many rookie tight ends who must learn that portion of the game. And if he gets the run blocking and pass protection down, Long will naturally be eligible to play more snaps. More snaps means more routes run and more routes run means more balls caught.

It all ties together for Long — but Frelund appears optimistic despite the crowded tight end room in Miami.