Dion Jordan to see increased workload in training camp

Written by Matthew Cannata
Second year defensive end Dion Jordan is suspended for the first four games of the regular season but he will be able to participate in all team activities, including games, during the preseason. The Dolphins must create a fine balance of making sure Jordan gets his repetitions while not hurting the others who will actually be on the field come September.

"Let’s face it, four weeks off from football is not going to be a benefit," Dolphins coach Joe Philbin told Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. "So we have to have him do some work. This is a brand new world because we haven’t had a player suspended in our previous two training camps," Philbin said. "As a young player, my feeling is he needs to get work – especially in the bigger picture that he’s not going to be getting work later on. He needs work now.

"But we can’t jeopardize the preparation of other guys. At the same time, we’re going to have to get him work. He’s going to get it without a doubt. And he needs it. And he needs padded work. You think back to last year’s training camp, he had very minimal repetitions in things he needed. You think back to last year, we had eight or nine of those days when we had those one-on-one periods where there was some form of a half line where there are two guys going old fashioned high school stuff. We have to be ready to go Sept. 8th but at the same time we can’t stunt his growth."

While Jordan will be eligible to resume playing after week four, the reality is that he will take a few weeks to get back into playing shape. We can only hope that it doesn’t take long and that he is able to get back on the field before the halfway mark and start making an impact for the home stretch of the season.

---