Resilient Bell vying for steady role on Dolphins’ defense
Quinton Bell loves the expression, ‘Get it out the mud.’
Ever since Bell’s high school days, he’s basically been making something out of nothing.
In high school, when multiple injuries caused major college programs to shy away from recruiting him, he signed with Prairie View A&M.
When his career as a wide receiver didn’t look promising, Bell seized an opportunity presented to him by one of his coaches there to switch to defense as an edge rusher.
The move got him to the NFL as a seventh-round pick of the Raiders.
But Bell spent the next five years bouncing around.
He was waived six times.
He was promoted and demoted from practice squads a staggering 24 times. Bell, however, has not quit.
And for the past couple of weeks, Bell is seizing his latest opportunity to dig himself out of the ‘mud’ and make the Miami Dolphins’ 53-man roster.
“I feel like my whole career, starting in college, has just been a grind. ‘Get it out the mud,’ as we say, and going through that has just made me stronger,” Bell said. “It’s made me stronger; it’s made me work even harder. I love when people tell me ‘I can’t.’ I love when people tell me ‘No,’ because I’ve always known what I’m about and I’ve always known my skill set and what I can be.”
Bell hasn’t just flashed those skills, he’s arguably the biggest surprise of training camp so far.
Hoping to pounce on an opportunity with defensive stars Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb working their way back from serious injuries, Bell has opened the eyes of his coaches and teammates.
“You learn so much about players based upon how other players react and when he gets an edge of a lineman and is creating a hurry, pressure or sack or he’s long-arming while setting the edge, people lose their minds,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said last week. “And I think that’s because here’s a guy that comes to work every day with no excuses,
Can Patrick Paul lock down the left side?
Paul, the Dolphins’
2024 second-round pick, has made steady progress during training camp, but he needs to use these preseason games to show he’s ready to serve as a starter if called on to replace Terron Armstead this season. Paul can do that by mowing down defenders in the run game, and neutralizing the Falcons pass rushers he lines up against. However, how much work will Miami give him against firstteam defenders?
How motivated will Teair Tart be for a preseason game?
It seems as if Tart has a little bit of Jordan Phillips in him, which means he paces himself regularly, and has to be motivated to perform at his talent level. With Benito Jones likely nursing an injury, Tart and Brandon Pili might be forced to play 20-plus snaps each as Miami’s nose tackle. Tart, who has showcased a knack for beating one-on-one blocks, could be just the impact player this defense
is missing. But Miami’s coaches need to figure out how to reach him to get 20 high level snaps out of the former Florida International standout.
Can Chop Robinson be a three down edge contributor?
Playing the edge spot isn’t just about hunting down quarterbacks. Those outside linebackers in these 3-4 schemes are also responsible for setting the edge on running downs, and dropping back into coverage when an exotic blitz is called. Robinson, the Dolphins’ 2024 firstround pick, must master all aspects of his job or else he’ll become a third down only player. The main thing to evaluate Robinson on Friday is how he handles himself against the Falcons run.
Who wants a prominent safety role?
Jordan Poyer likely won’t participate in preseason games because he’s a 12-year veteran, who happens to be nursing a thumb injury. And Miami will likely restrict Jevon Holland’s participation because he’s a prominent player that plenty is expected from. That leaves Elijah Campbell, Marcus Maye, Nik Needham and rookie Patrick McMorris
to anchor the back end of the secondary. One of these four will be on the chopping block in a month based on how they perform.
Clock is ticking on Channing Tindall
The Dolphins have a trio of inside linebackers in David Long, Jordyn Brooks and Anthony Walker whose workload has been limited because of injuries. That means Tindall, the Dolphins’ disappointing 2022 thirdround pick, will have a chance to showcase himself for at least a half while being paired with Duke Riley, Ezekiel Vanderburgh and Curtis Bolton. Tindall needs to start making impact plays to extend his stay on Miami’s 53-man roster because teams don’t wait three seasons on a draftee to blossom.
What fringe tight end will impress Miami’s coaches?
Julian Hill and Tanner Conner have flashed plenty while handling starter snaps for Durham Smythe and Jonnu Smith, who are each on snap count restrictions during training camp. Jody Fortson Jr., a free agent signed from Kansas City, needs to step up his level of contribution
to potentially compete with those two for one of the final tight end spots on the 53-man roster.
Who will be the front runner for the starting guard spots?
Robert Jones has filled in admirably as Miami’s starting left guard while Isaiah Wynn continues his recovery from the quadriceps injury that cut his 2023 season short, and Liam Eichenberg seems to be holding off Jack Driscoll for the starting right guard spot. Lester Cotton hasn’t pushed anyone to regain a starting role he held last season. At this point Miami’s probably hoping someone separates themselves from the pack during the preseason games.
Does Miami have a backup center on the roster?
Aaron Brewer suffering a hand injury in Wednesday’s practice reminds us how important Eichenberg’s role as the backup center is. That means it’s possible that he could be called on to play that position for a couple of games in an emergency situation unless undrafted rookie Andrew Meyer shows he a component center, or Sean Harlow, who was added this week, becomes comfortable in his new role.