Branden Albert avoids PUP list

The Miami Dolphins and their fans got some good news this morning as Branden Albert will not be on the Physically Unable to Perform list to start training camp.

Instead, 10 months after tearing his ACL and MCL, Albert will be on the active roster and seemingly ready to go for training camp at some point, as per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald.

The timetable for exactly when Albert will practice is still up in the air and he’s not out of the PUP woods yet. If he can’t participate with teammates for a good amount of time then he’ll wind up on the list anyway.

ESPN’s James Walker reports that Albert won’t be going right into the fire, as expected by previous comments by the coaching staff, but will still get see some limited action.

For now, the news is great for the Dolphins as head coach Joe Philbin has essentially put his money where his mouth is. For the past week or so, Philbin has said Albert will be ready with some experts and fans taking those comments with a grain of salt.

But with this news comes hope that Albert really will be ready for the season and that Ryan Tannehill‘s blindside will be good to go come the season’s start.

While the Dolphins opening portion of the schedule is on the soft side, it’s better to have Albert from the beginning and win those “easy” games early than not have Albert and potentially lose a contest the team should have won.

It was anticipated that Jason Fox would get the left tackle duties if Albert was unable to play or practice while keeping Ja’Wuan James on the right side after he struggled in Albert’s role late last season.

With the offensive line still a cause for concern with the Dolphins, getting their starting left tackle back in time to participate in training camp with all possible speed is a huge plus for the team.

This potentially means center and both tackles will be shored up with only the inside left and right guard positions possible causes for concern.

Dolphins fans just need to hope Albert can get back soon and remain healthy for the duration of the season as to not test the team’s questionable offensive line depth. If this team is to make a run for its first postseason appearance since 2008, they’ll need a healthy Albert all season long.