The Miami Dolphins are going to have rookies struggle during early portions of training camp, but for one draft pick holding onto his job by a thread, struggle might be an understatement.
Miami is entering its second week of camp, and some players, like Quinn Ewers, are starting to grasp the offense and the speed of the NFL. Mike McDaniel has been impressed with his play thus far. That doesn't seem to be the case for another one of the Dolphins' draft picks.
If there is one thing we have learned about McDaniel, it's the fact that he won't throw a player under the bus as he talks in circles. On Monday, he was asked about the status of Dante Trader, who hasn't been on the field the last couple of days. McDaniel's cryptic, if not confusing, response could indicate a problem with the young rookie.
The question was simple: "We haven't seen Dante Trader for the last couple of days. Is he injured?" The answer wasn't that cut and dry, but apparently, he isn't hurt, or at least McDaniel isn't saying he is directly.
"With Trader, we are more preparing for a situation where can see him compete and stay on the field, in those joint practices. That's kind of a measuring stick. I want to see him consistently be on the field, and then not have a regression."
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel doesn't sound confident about Dante Trader's progression
McDaniel went on to say that they are taking their time because they don't want to "compromise" him getting work during the joint practices.
This would seem to imply that he is banged up or dealing with some sort of health concern, but McDaniel finished talking about the rookie in a way that leaves more questions unanswered.
"We don't want to compromise [the joint practices]. [But] he doesn't have to convince his teammates that he is all-in. Let's just say that."
So what is going on with Trader? It's hard to say. The Dolphins don't have to release specific information about players at this point in camp, so there will be lingering questions regarding the rookie.
Trader was the last of three picks made by Miami in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. His selection made fellow Maryland Terp and Dolphins fifth-round pick Jordan Phillips extremely happy.
So far, it sounds like Phillips is having a fantastic training camp for Miami. Whether Trader can turn it around remains to be seen.