Miami Dolphins Press Release
The Miami Dolphins have signed tight end Raymond Webber and waived tight end Brett Brackett, the team announced.

The 6-2, 237-pound Webber joins the Dolphins after spending time with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League in 2013. He spent time with the New York Jets during the 2012 preseason prior to entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2011, where he was placed on injured reserve for the season. 

A four-year letterman at Arkansas Pine-Bluff, he posted 180 catches for 2,376 yards (13.2 avg.) and 16 touchdowns during his collegiate career. Born June 1, 1989 in St. Louis, Mo., Webber attended Clyde C. Miller High School in St. Louis, Mo.

Written by Matthew Cannata | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
Ever since CEO Tom Garfinkel took over in his role with the Miami Dolphins, the organization has been open and transparent while also making sure they show appreciation to not only fans and season ticket holders, but to their employees as well. 

On Thursday, Garfinkle gave everyone a day off from the office and brought in four loads of buses filled with employees from Sun Life Stadium. They were able to watch practice, which was closed to the public and were treated to lunch and other activities throughout the day. 

“It’s one team, it’s one organization, we’re all here for the same purpose,” Philbin said. “I think it was a great idea just to get them over here and let them see. They’re working their tail off over there, just like we’re working our tail off here. It was good to get them over here.”

Written by Matthew Cannata | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
Walt Aikens was drafted in the fourth round after he earned All-Big South Conference honors as a cornerback. Here in Miami though, the coaching staff has moved him to the safety position. However, this position isn't new to him - he played safety when he was a freshman at the University of Illinois in 2009. 

“It just brings back old memories right now,” Aikens said. “Just going back to it, just got to get into the playbook. I mean, I’m pretty natural at safety. That was my first position. I really understand, it’s just about getting the plays down.” 

Aikens has actually done a solid job in his new, but old, position and earned praise from defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle. Head Coach Joe Philbin said that Aikens will also see some time at cornerback.

If anything else, Aikens bolstered his chances of making the roster because of his versatility and will provide good depth this coming season. 

Written by Luis Sung
After July 29th's training camp session, Head Coach Joe Philbin revealed something that quickly became a joke across the internet because of the sort of things it implied. Philbin actually does nightly bed checks on all the players at the team hotel. Many fans are making fun of Philbin for saying it in the first place, and maybe he shouldn't have, but at least he's trying to make connections with his players. One player who was pleasantly shocked by the change is second year Cornerback Will Davis.

“He comes in there and checks on us, probably gives us a little tip from the day before, sometimes he tells a little joke,” Davis said as he recalled the first time Philbin had checked in on him and his roommate, fellow Cornerback Jamar Taylor. “I remember the first time. Me and Jamar we’re sitting there chatting, we hear the door knock so we know they’re walking in. When you turn and see coach Philbin it’s like, ‘Whoa, what?’ But it’s good. Of course he’s the first one up and the last one to bed. So that’s interesting. I like he’s always there with us. That’s interesting to me.”

Fans may make fun of him for admitting he's the one who does the bed checks, but it appears to be having a positive impact on the players, and especially in the aftermath of the bullying scandal, it's good to see Philbin making adjustments to his coaching style.

Written by Luis Sung
Wide Receiver Brian Hartline has a chance to make Miami Dolphins history this season and become the first Dolphins receiver to have three consecutive 1,000 yard receiving seasons, but that's not his top priority. 
 
“At this point that’s so far-fetched,” Hartline said. “It’s just so out in the distance I’m not really concerned about that. I’m making some errors on day in, day out. Today was my cleanest day, but overall I’m just worried about being error-free and catching every football.”

Hartline has been Ryan Tannehill's most trusted target over the course of the young QB's three-year career, so the fact that his mentality is to continue to improve and help the team however he can is a comforting one, but he does have one more goal in mind that's more important than anything else to him right now. Brian Hartline doesn't care about his numbers except for one: how many times has he made it to the playoffs, and he's determined to make that number stop being a zero.

“But I think in the end I also know the numbers -- I haven’t been to the playoffs. So that’s the one thing I want to change.”

Written by Luis Sung
Rookie Right Tackle Ja'Wuan James is getting beat daily by Pro Bowl Defensive End Cameron Wake. And strangely enough, it's nothing he didn't ask for.

“I asked him to show me what he’s got,” James said. “I asked him to give me his best shot because that’s what I need to become a better player.”

And not one to refuse a challenge, Cameron Wake hasn't hesitated to go all out against the first round draft pick out of Tennessee.

“I’m holding nothing back,” he says. “The gloves are off. I’m working him hard.”

Naturally going up against a player of Wake's caliber is going to make the young rookie look bad, but Wake knows that with him pushing James to be better, it's going to help in the long run.

“I owe it to my team to do everything I can to get him ready,” Wake said of James. “He’s going to be one of the anchors of our offensive line for a long time. He’s got a lot of talent. I’m just trying every day to bring that talent out of him."

While some fans might be worried by the daily training camp reports explaining how James is struggling to hold back Wake's speed and strength, it is important to keep in mind that Wake is an elite pass-rushing talent, and James's struggles are nothing more than growing pains which are going to make James much stronger in the long run, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

“I love it,” James said. “I need it. I want it. To go up in practice each day against such a great player, it’s got to help me, it’s got to make me ready for what’s ahead. Going up against him, it feels like a real game.”

Written by Matthew Cannata
Mike Wallace, who has been nursing a sore hamstring, will be held out of practices until next week. This news came this morning after Wallace sat out his second straight practice. This also means that Wallace won't be participating in the scrimmage game on Saturday at Sun Life Stadium.

Moving into next week, the hamstring will be evaluated again before the Dolphins play their first preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons on August 8. Obviously, at this point, caution will be taken instead of trying to rush him on the field.

It's important for Wallace to get healthy as soon as possible so he can continue to learn the new offense and continue to build chemistry with quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

We will continue to bring you a live stream of updates today and every day there is a practice so your timeline doesn't get cluttered with information and updates don't get lost in the shuffle. Today's practice begins at 8:00 AM and is closed to the general public. Click the read more button below to be taken to our live update feed! 

Written by Matthew Cannata
Despite being suspended for the first four games in 2014, Sports Illustrated has named defensive end Dion Jordan as one of ten players who will become stars this season.

Jordan, who gained 15 pounds during the offseason, is now better built to play the run and will now have more power to rush through the offensive line. Last season, Jordan only had two sacks in limited playing time but he affected many plays just by making his presence known in the pocket. Once he gets going again after the suspension, he should be able to step in and make an impact on the field.

Written by Matthew Cannata
When the Dolphins moved Koa Misi to middle linebacker earlier this offseason, it was met with skepticism from media and fans. It was justified because Misi has never played middle linebacker in his life. He came out of Utah as a defensive end and then was moved to outside linebacker when he came to the Dolphins. However, the unfamiliarity of the position hasn’t stopped him from sliding in and transitioning well to all the changes.

“All I saw when I put on the film was a guy who freaking hunts the ball and who’s all over the football field,” new Dolphins linebackers coach Mark Duffner said. “He’s active, he gives a great effort, he’s tough and the physicality that he brings — those are the attributes you like to have in a Mike (middle) linebacker.

Koa Misi explains why the middle linebacker position is so much different than the others.

There’s so much more I have to read playing Mike than I did Sam (strong side),” he said. “It just takes time. I have all the run reads, all the motions, all the receivers. … It’s been difficult. But the more reps I get at it, the better it is every day.”

Defensive Coordinator Kevin Coyle says that Misi is one of the hardest working players he has ever been around in his entire NFL career.

“Koa has a real tremendous competitive nature about him,” Coyle said. “He wants to succeed. He’ll do anything he can to help the team. There’s always been the question of how vocal he can be. But I think if you listen and you watch our entire group right now, we have better communication than we’ve had ever since we’ve been here together, and he’s a big part of that.”

Written by Matthew Cannata
Lamar Miller is entering his third season in the NFL and while has improved each year, there are those who say that Miller isn’t good enough to be a featured number one running back in the league. If you ask Joe Philbin and Bill Lazor though, they will disagree with you.

"He's a guy that this is year three," Philbin said. "I think his first year, I want to say he had about 150 yards rushing. Last year, he had around 700 and change. Now it's his third year. He knows the expectations. He knows what the job description and requirements are of a running back in the National Football League. I anticipate he's going to have a very good season and I think he's off to a good start."

Added Lazor, "Lamar, I think, has a chance to be a really good player in this league because I think he has a good mix of, number one, being a space player, having the ability to use his speed...what I saw a couple of days ago, our first day in pads, I really like the way he ran the ball. In our short-yardage situations, I thought he got downhill. If he'll put those things together, I think he's got a chance to be a real productive player."

Miller has been working extremely hard this offseason to get better, putting on six pounds of muscle and working out with San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore, who are also both University of Miami alumni. In addition to that, Miller met with Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy to pick up tips on how to be successful in Lazor’s offense.

Even though training camp is less than a week old, there are a lot of different storylines already that probably won't see it's conclusion reached any time soon. What does our panel think of the wide receivers and who do they think they will keep and release? How about the tight end and running back positions? The biggest question right now though is center and we discuss all of the options for the Dolphins!

> Click here to download the Phin Maniacs Podcast for the week of July 27!

Written by Matthew Cannata
Following practice on Wednesday, Kevin Coyle spoke out regarding his defense and talked about the various things they’re trying to do and the various thing’s he’s been impressed with.

“We’re always looking for different things that might help us improve both in how we do things and what we’re actually doing schematically, but thus far we’re really been focusing more on what our core things are, things that we’ve been doing, the foundation that we’ve put forth over the last couple of seasons,” Coyle said after practice Wednesday. “Really, the bottom line at the end of the day, it’s us executing our defense and not so much what the offense is doing. We believe in our scheme, we believe in trying to utilize our players’ strengths within the scheme and I think we’ll continue to do that.

Coyle says that the Dolphins have competition at every spot on the defensive side of the ball and is really excited about the secondary with the amount of depth they have.

“I think we’ve got competition at every spot basically right now,” Coyle said. “This is the deepest group I think we’ve had in all the positions, guys that as you go down the list have proven that they are capable of competing in the NFL. I think our young corners are really starting to come along. We’ve got some competition at the safety position there, in the defensive line. We’ve got some real quality depth in the younger players that we’re working with right now, and then we’ve got some young athletic linebackers.

The player that Coyle has been impressed with the most? That would be Koa Misi, who the Dolphins moved over to the middle linebacker position earlier this season while moving Dannell Ellerbe to the outside.

“I’m extremely pleased with how Koa has progressed taking on the challenge of becoming the Mike backer in the defense,” Coyle said. “There’s very few guys I’ve ever been around that have worked as hard as he has to get ready. In the building early. Coach Duff has done a phenomenal job tutoring him, working with him on an individual basis getting him ready. Koa has a real tremendous competitive nature about him. He wants to succeed. He’ll do anything he can to help the team. He’s totally unselfish in that regard. There’s always been the question of how vocal he can be; I think if you listen and you watch our entire group right now, we have better communication than we’ve had ever since we’ve been here together and he’s a big part of that. I think we’re on target with that and we’re pleased with where Koa is through five practices.” 

Written by Matthew Cannata
Nate Garner has played every position on the offensive line with the Miami Dolphins but he has never had a chance to legitimately compete for a starting position. Now, with the center position wide open, he’s going to make the most of this opportunity.

"I'll play wherever they put me," Garner said. "Every year I come out here I'm trying to push for a starting spot. It is no different this year. I'm working my butt off, and have been working my butt off this whole offseason."

Head Coach Joe Philbin said he's instructed his coaching staff to mix things up and experiment a little during this week's practices.

"I want to see some guys in some different spots. I want to see how they respond. I want to let them know that they've got to produce and perform," Philbin said. "We've got to find the exact right spots for these guys."

Written by Matthew Cannata
Marcus Thigpen has been the Dolphins kickoff and punt returner the past two seasons but he now finds himself on the roster bubble. This became more apparent on Wednesday when we learned that Jarvis Landry and Damian Williams are the top two challengers for that position.

“We put a depth chart up. Is [Thigpen] number one? Yes, because he has the most experience,” special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi said. “We will have other guys do it. We have a lot of options, a lot of competition. We have some insurance policies like Brent Grimes.”

Thigpen should be most concerned about Landry, who the coaches love not only in their offensive sets, but also in the special teams phase of the game.

“Obviously, the guy has good hands,” Rizzi said. “He has good judgment, very good athletic ability. The question of whether he can do it in game time is going to be the biggest thing. He’s going to have some opportunities for sure [in preseason games]. He didn’t do it a lot in college [at LSU]. They had Odell Beckham doing it.”

Written by Matthew Cannata
After Mike Pouncey underwent surgery, news came out that he would be out for at least four to eight weeks. The coaching staff decided to move free agent acquisition Shelley Smith over to the center position from offensive guard. It seemed like the right idea as Smith is athletic, intelligent and versatile. However, the first few days of practice have the Dolphins re-considering the switch.

On Wednesday, the Dolphins replaced Smith on the first-team at center after he botched two more snaps. Smith has botched at least one snap every practice so far. Nate Garner, who started two games at center last season, replaced Smith during team drills in the later part of practice. 

Yesterday, offensive line coach John Benton said that they would have a better idea of how Smith is doing after the first preseason game but after the latest miscues, it looks like they might be moving on a little earlier than that.

The coaches also moved around other pieces, putting rookie Billy Turner at right guard and Dallas Thomas back at the tackle position. Unfortunately, Thomas is still trying to find a spot on the line where he is comfortable.

“We’ll see if he looks that much more comfortable [at tackle],” head coach Joe Philbin said. “I doubt that will be the case but it could be. I told the staff I want to see some guys in some different spots.”

Written by Matthew Cannata
Caleb Sturgis was drafted in the fifth round of the 2013 draft and after beating out incumbent Dan Carpenter in training camp, he had a great start to the season before falling into a downward spiral. However, his inconsistency has led general manager Dennis Hickey and the coaching staff to keep their eyes and ears open when it comes to other kickers around the league and on the free agent wire, even if they don’t bring anyone into camp to compete against him.

"I think the specialist is kind of a different deal. There's always competition there. It just may not be in the building. There's competition around the league. We're always evaluating the specialist's position. That's a fluid situation. Although we may not have anyone here, it's always a fluid situation,” special teams coach Darren Rizzi said. “We may not have a body here in camp doing it, but ... I will say this, I have a lot of confidence in Caleb Sturgis. He's a quality player. But a specialist is a little different than everywhere else. It really is. You don't necessarily have to have a body in camp for those guys to feel pressure."

To help Sturgis simulate game action throughout training camp, Rizzi has taken a new approach and only gives Sturgis one shot to make the field goal. If he misses, he doesn’t get another shot at the attempt.

"It's make or miss," Rizzi said. "You don't get a second chance."

With Rizzi coming out and speaking about this, it’s time to start paying close attention to Sturgis once the preseason games begin. He has a strong leg and a good attitude so hopefully he can get himself back on track. 

The Fullback Dive - Written by Benjamin Meyer
On Monday evening, the Dolphins released training camp QB Brock Jensen and replaced him with Seth Lobato, a QB out of Northern Colorado. 

While some may fans may have reacted by a) watching grainy senior year college film of the newly signed Seth Lobato, or b) assuming third string QB Pat Devlin is now firmly on the 53-man roster, I’m here to tell you what this release actually means for the 2014 Dolphins. 

While many Dolphins’ fans had the expectation that Brock Jensen would compete with Pat Devlin for the Dolphins third QB job on the 53-man roster, the first few practices of training camp and this latest transaction have me thinking the Dolphins may have different plans. With more and more teams entering the regular season with only two active quarterbacks, my feeling is the Dolphins will make one additional available roster spot for a non-QB a top priority this year. 

> Click here to read the rest of the column!

Third and Long - Written by Seth Fisher
Being five days and four practices into training camp 2014, the Miami Dolphins' players are starting to feel everything that comes with the summer practices - soreness, freezing cold ice tubs, massages, tiredness, stress and more. Training camp tests a players will, both physically and mentally. It also tests their willingness to fight for a starting position or even just a roster spot, especially for those players on the "bubble" that aren't guaranteed anything in the NFL. 

In addition to those pressures, there is also a lot more that comes from the outside in the form of so-called experts. These people can mentally challenge players, coaches and owners. One person that spoke out about these experts was Mike Wallace. 

> Click here to read the rest of the column

We will continue to bring you a live stream of updates today and every day there is a practice so your timeline doesn't get cluttered with information and updates don't get lost in the shuffle. Today's practice begins at 8:00 AM and is open to the general public. The players will not be in pads today. Click the read more button below to be taken to our live update feed! 

Written by Matthew Cannata
After the bullying scandal broke during the 2013 season, head coach Joe Philbin was heavily criticized for being out of touch with his players and the locker room. Now, in 2014, he has taken many steps to interact more often with players on a 1-on-1 basis.

"I think I have a better rapport, chemistry, with the players on the ball club. I’ve spent more time communicating with them in a one-on-one manner and in team meetings. I’ve been doing the bed check every single night at the hotel and just knocking on their doors and making sure that they’re OK, busting their chops a little bit if they’re awake," he said. "Speaking of (Marcus) Thigpen, he has some wild parties, I mean this guy is asleep, he hasn’t even moved every time we knock on the door. I think we’re all more on the same page. I think I’ve done a better job outlining the expectations. Obviously, the proof is in the pudding, we’ll see.” 

Written by Matthew Cannata
Cameron Wake didn't have the easiest path to the NFL but sometimes, it doesn't matter how you got there but instead, it matters what you do once you get there. Wake has worked extremely hard since the day he arrived in the NFL in 2009. 

His hard work has paid off in recent years but he continues to impress and be recognized for his commitment to excellence. After being ranked by NFL.com as the second best edge rusher in the game and tops in the AFC in that category, Wake has been listed as the third-best overall defensive end in the upcoming release of the Madden video game franchise.

Wake is rated 96 overall and EA Sports said that Wake still terrorizes NFL quarterbacks with his 97 Finesse Moves and 95 Acceleration on a weekly basis. Wake was ranked ahead of the following players at the defensive end position:  Calais Campbell (96 OVR), Cameron Jordan (93 OVR) and Muhammad Wilkerson (93 OVR), behind only J.J. Watt (99 OVR) and Robert Quinn (97 OVR).

Written by Matthew Cannata
Tight End Arthur Lynch was drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft and for all rookies, regardless of where they are drafted, adjusting to the NFL can be somewhat difficult at first. Lynch, who caught 56 passes for 907 yards and eight touchdowns during his career at Georgia, found three former Bulldogs: Reshad Jones, Dannell Ellerbe and Knowshon Moreno.

Although Lynch played with Jones for one year, he said that meeting Ellerbe and Moreno was a great moment as they were two players he and others on the team looked up to. 

“I played with Reshad one year, and Dannell and Knowshon left their mark at the university, so we all looked up to them as players,” Lynch said. ” When we were introduced they all started shouting ‘Georgia, Georgia, Georgia.’ That was kind of cool, to feel like we’re already apart of one family and now we’re getting acclimated to another one. That was a big deal for me.”

Lynch said that his college head coach, Mark Richt, was a big reason why his transition to the NFL didn't take long.

“No matter where you are in life, no matter what you do, you have to try and make an impact on other people,” Lynch said. “I really want to try to impact other people, and I think coach Richt tried to do that himself. He tried to impact others in a positive way, that rubbed off on me, and I think it rubs off on everyone who goes to the University of Georgia.”

Lynch is currently battling for a roster spot in a very crowded tight end group. Time will tell if he makes the final 53 man roster or if he ends up on the practice squad.

Written by Matthew Cannata
After the 2013 season ended, head coach Joe Philbin said that he would look at everything and figure out ways the team can improve. We've already seen quite a few changes in camp so far such as the five minute cool-down period inside the bubble. Another change is that the Dolphins now play music during team drills instead of crowd noise.

“We talk about it as a staff,” Philbin said. “Everybody brought different ideas. We have some new guys and we kick around some ideas in the off-season of things that we can maybe do differently to hopefully improve the practice atmosphere. It’s not always going to be music. When we get closer to a game, we’ll do some crowd noise as well. But I think it’s been a good addition.” 

Count cornerback Brent Grimes as somebody in favor of the music. 

“I like it,” Grimes said. “We used to do just the crowd noise and it’s kind of annoying. This, you get a little music, it makes you feel a little better, gets you through the practice. I like it.”