Rookies who are looking to make the Miami Dolphins team this year can forget everything they have heard about rookie minicamps.
First-year head coach Adam Gase has decided that none of the team’s eight draft picks or 10 undrafted free agent signings are going to play football during rookie minicamp this weekend. Instead, they will spend all of their time in the classroom. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald has more on what will be expected.
Instead Dolphins rookies will spend all their time during this minicamp in classroom sessions learning how to be Miami Dolphins. That means they’re going to get schooled on the schemes they’re playing, their assignments, and everything football that involves the brain.
But they’re also going to get a little polished up as people. They’re going to get life labs to help them with nutrition, financial planning, sports science, and dealing with the media — the last of which is a big part of their job believe it or not.
As Salguero notes, Gase is hoping to give the rookies a physical break while also mentally preparing them for life in the NFL both on and off the field. There is a popular theory that rookies hit a wall late in their first season because they are used to a shorter offseason and 12-game schedule, so this could also help with that.
On the flip side, there won’t be an opportunity for players to showcase their skills and make an impression on the team. If you weren’t drafted and are looking to overcome serious odds to make the team, how can you stick out?
One thing’s for sure — Ndamukong Suh would probably like the rookie minicamp schedule. He doesn’t like working out at the Dolphins facility, anyway.
Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
