Gase was ecstatic to finally get running back Jay Ajayi, who had injured his knee, on the practice field again.
“It was good. I was really happy that he came back as far as, I know he’s not 100 percent right now; but he did not want to miss anymore practice,” Gase said. “He wants to get out there. He wants to make sure he’s getting the reps that he needs. A guy like that, fighting to get back, especially in training camp – as a coach, you appreciate the fact that he wants to be out there.”
He was also very pleased about cornerback Xavien Howard’s rehab progress.
“Every day’s going to be a new day for him as far as the progression. It’s hard for me to say like ‘Hey, we know this is going to be the exact date,’ but he’s been working really hard. I know the trainers feel great about where he’s at right now,” he said.
However, Gase has tempered any expectations the Dolphins’ 2016 second-round pick will be back anytime soon.
“It’s hard for me to say, ‘Hey he’s ahead of schedule.’ We’re still a little ways away but he’s done a great job,” he said.
Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph is hoping Howard can go week one.
“He’s a second-round pick for a reason. He’s talented. What we saw in the spring, that gave us hope that he could be a starter,” Joseph said.
And while the trainers had good news about Howard, Gase hadn’t spoken with them about cornerback Chimdi Chekwa who went down during practice.
“It’s hard for me to sit there and ask a whole bunch of questions because we’re rolling in practice. I’ll have a better idea when we get back tomorrow,” he said.
Another major defensive piece to be sidelined was defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. A flared up back forced him to sit out as a precaution, but his injury isn’t considered serious.
The last update Gase gave was for DeVante Parker who tweaked his hamstring – a troublesome injury for wideouts.
“It’s hard for me to … When you have these hamstrings, some days these guys come in and they feel good and they want to get out there and start going. The hard part for our medical staff, sports science and trainers is you can’t have that setback,” Gase said. “But if we put him out there too early and then all of a sudden he re-pulls it, now it sets us back. So we just got to make sure when we get these guys back they stay back.”
