The Dolphins may not have to wait as long as expected to see Chris Bell back in the mix.
Miami’s third-round receiver tore his ACL last fall at Louisville, which helped push him down to where the Dolphins could land him in the draft. The expectation was that patience would be part of the plan. Instead, Bell is already back on the field after being activated from the injury list and working his way into practice this week.
“It felt great. I haven’t played football in a little minute, so my first practice, I was a little nervous, but I’m just out there getting my feet wet, getting back to the swing of things,” Bell said via the team website.
Bell said the knee itself isn’t the issue. The repair was done just eight months ago in mid-December, and he says he trusts it fully.
“No, I feel very confident,” he said when asked if the knee recovery was the toughest part. “I would say the toughest part is just getting adapted to the NFL, these hot practices and just playing in NFL.”
Elsewhere in the AFC East, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic laid out his Jets 53-man roster projection, and there are a few eye-openers in the mix.
At quarterback, Rosenblatt has New York moving on from Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook while keeping Geno Smith and Cade Klubnik as the two options.
His projection has the Jets carrying four running backs: Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis and Kene Nwangwu.
Tight end is another position where Rosenblatt sees New York going heavy, with Mason Taylor, Kenyon Sadiq, Jeremy Ruckert and Jelani Woods all making the cut.
On defense, one of the more notable outside linebacker cuts is Braiden McGregor.
Inside linebacker, Rosenblatt has the Jets keeping five players: Demario Davis, Jamien Sherwood, Kiko Mauigoa, Mykal Walker and Marcelino McCrary-Ball.
The cornerback group would be deep as well, with seven names projected to stick: Brandon Stephens, Azareye’h Thomas, Nahshon Wright, Jarvis Brownlee, D’Angelo Ponds, Qwan’Tez Stiggers and Mory Bamba.
And in the kicking battle, Rosenblatt has Jason Sanders winning out over Cade York.
In New England, Patriots guard Greg Van Roten signed a one-year, $3 million deal that includes a $1.48 million base salary, with $500,000 guaranteed, a $500,000 signing bonus and up to $1.02 million in per-game active roster bonuses. There’s also another $1.5 million bonus that counts against the cap, according to Over The Cap.
In Other News...
Jacob Rodriguez Is Giving Dolphins Fans One Real Reason For Optimism
A bright spot emerged for the Dolphins during their joint practice against the Giants, and it came from a rookie linebacker who has been drawing attention all summer. Jacob Rodriguez picked off a pass and kept adding to the strong impression he has made throughout training camp, offering Miami a defensive playmaker to watch as the team continues sorting out its roster.
Rodriguez, the Dolphins second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, has already put himself in position to keep building momentum in a bigger setting. He will get another chance to show what he can do in the upcoming preseason game against New York, where the Dolphins will be looking for more of the same from a young defender who has started to stand out. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Make Another Roster Move As Injury Concerns Keep Mounting
A week of roster shuffling kept going for Miami after guard James Ester was waived with an injury designation following a leg injury in a joint practice with the Giants. The Dolphins moved quickly to fill the spot, signing rookie linebacker Stephen Dix Jr. to the active roster as the team continues sorting through the effects of camp injuries and the lineup ripple they create.
Dix brings a fresh look to the back end of the roster after earlier stops with the Cardinals and a college career at Arkansas. For Miami, the move is another reminder that the preseason is as much about staying healthy as it is about evaluating talent, and the Dolphins are now trying to keep both goals in sight as camp moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Kenneth Grant Is Already Facing A Tough Dolphins Reality Check
The Dolphins long view is already running through their young defensive front, and Kenneth Grant sits right in the middle of it. The 2025 first-round pick had a rocky rookie season, but Pro Football Focus still tabbed him as Miamis most likely breakout candidate for 2026, a sign that the intrigue around him has not gone away. Even with the roster adding more depth and the organization evaluating its second- and third-year players, Grant remains one of the names that could shape how this defense looks next season.
The problem is that he is also dealing with an injury, and Jeff Hafley has described the situation as week-to-week. That leaves Grant in an awkward spot, trying to build momentum while the Dolphins sort out where he fits compared with the other defensive tackles on the roster. For a player the team clearly wants to see take a step, the next few weeks will matter just as much as the long-term projection. [Read more 🡒]