Yesterday’s padded practices are in the books for the Miami Dolphins and things are at the very least starting to feel somewhat normal on the gridiron. The accessibility for training camp isn’t what you’d find during a standard year and the Dolphins media even has new restrictions on what can and cannot be shared from the team facilities — no tweeting about plays or first-string options.
It’s a new challenge, but a welcomed challenge when you consider that the pads are back on and legitimate football is taking place. One thing that can be talked about? Some of the standout performers from each practice — for better or for worse.
Which Miami Dolphins player most needs to bounce back in a big way after the first round of practice?
RB Kalen Ballage
Ballage was stripped by DB Eric Rowe during yesterday’s practice, an honest mistake. But mistakes a troubling trend in Ballage’s game going back to the 2019 season, where he constantly struggled with drops and ball security all while logging a paltry 1.8 yards per carry average over 74 carries. Ballage also struggled to make plays last season when Miami needed him to — he was credited with just one broken tackle last year on 88 total touches and logged four drops on 24 targets in the passing game.
It was, by all accounts, a brutal year for Ballage. And that was before his season ended early with a leg injury against the Philadelphia Eagles.
But with Miami bringing in Jordan Howard, Matt Breida and Malcolm Perry, the third-year back cannot afford to continue logging practices like yesterday, where he didn’t only fumble but also let the ball hit the ground on a targeted pass.
Ballage’s best path to making the roster is as a potential short-yardage backup to Jordan Howard or as a pass-catching specialist out of the backfield. But with him coming up short in both areas last year as well as yesterday, there’s going to need to be a big turnaround in order for him to find a role for the team in 2020.