How are Miami Dolphins rookies Kenneth Grant, Jonah Savaiinaea doing in training camp?

Yahoo

08-08-2025

MIAMI GARDENS ― Miami Dolphins coaches are pleased with the first two weeks of training camp practices by rookie defensive tackle Kenneth Grant and guard Jonah Savaiinaea.
"Awesome, awesome," Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said of Grant. "He's everything we thought we'd be. I think his game particularly comes to life when the pads come on, right? And you've seen the impact it can have both in the middle of the pocket as a run defender and as a pass rusher."
Dolphins defensive line coach Austin Clark is going to push Grant to go from good to great, in the same way he once did for Christian Wilkins.
"I think he's working himself into shape," Clark said. "I think he works extremely hard. Very smart player. I would say that's the thing that's impressive, learning multiple spots, stuff like that. Pleased where he's at, but he knows we got a long way to go and fired up for these next couple of practices."
Dolphins rookie Kenneth Grant player to watch in Chicago
Weaver, like all of us, is looking forward to watching Grant face the Bears' offensive line in joint practice on Friday, Aug. 8. His message for rookies?
"To trust their technique and fundamentals in the training," Weaver said. "The thing that happens a lot, particularly with younger players, is when they get in that, the fire, and you're outside of your normal, where you're practicing against the same guy every day, is they start to revert back to old habits. We're trying to make this new training their new habits."
Dolphins rookie Jonah Savaiinaea is a starter
Meanwhile, fellow rookie guard Jonah Savaiinaea has also been solid.
"I like where things are at," Dolphins offensive line coach Butch Barry said of Savaiinaea. "You know, everything's a process, right? And camp is, you know, we're two weeks in."
Savaiinaea is big and strong and quick. But the technique utilized in Miami's offense will be a first-year work in progress.
"Does he have a lot of stuff to work on?" Barry said. "Absolutely he's got a lot of stuff to work on and we haven't played real games or anything like that... I think the process of which he goes about it and understanding how to be a pro, we've got some really good guys in the room that can teach him how to be a pro."
How is Savaiinaea taking to the coaching?
"Every day there's flashes of things that we really like," Barry said. "There's things that we're coaching it better. I coach him on something, he tries to fix it. And every time as a coach that you see somebody take something that you give them and they try to fix it, I mean, that's what you do it for. And that's, so we've seen a lot of good things and we've got a long way to go."
What does Barry have for Savaiinaea entering that joint practice?
"You're going out there to play football, something you've done your whole life, right?" Barry said. "It's against another opponent... And so it's gonna be very intense, but he's already an intense person. He's already a very focused person. So I think he'll be in a good place mentally where he's got to be."
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Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at [e-mail] and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins Kenneth Grant doing 'awesome'; Jonah Savaiinaea 'flashes'