Yesterday, Miami Dolphins rookie receiver Chris Bell was activated off of the team’s non-football injury list nine months removed from an ACL tear that ended his final season at Louisville prematurely. He practiced with the team in a red, non-contact jersey on Monday. Today, ahead of Miami’s practice, head coach Jeff Hafley met with the South Florida media and was asked about the possibility of having his young pass catcher available at the beginning of the regular season.
“He’s back at practice, so there’s always hope. We have to be careful, right? Yesterday he was in individual [drills] and today he’ll do a little bit more in individual, but he’ll be in a red jersey, so it’s non-contact. And then, [it’s up to] how he progresses… There’s still a lot of steps to go, so let’s just see how he progresses, you know? I mean, with any injury, could there be setbacks? Sure. Could it go smoothly? I hope… Step two will be getting involved in some team activities with a red jersey on. I don’t see him practicing against the Giants or playing against the Giants [this weekend], but we’ll go day-to-day and see how he progresses.”
Hafley went on to express how excited the organization is that Bell is back practicing with the team, but cautioned that the youngster still needs to get back into “football shape.”
“He’s got to get some timing and rhythm with the quarterbacks, but it’s good to have him out there… He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast. He can run through the football — his catch and run — I just love his play style. He plays with a violence to him, at least looking back at his college tape. He’s an explosive player with size.”
Before wrapping up his thoughts on Bell, Hafley once again intimated that the team would take things slowly with the rookie.
“Like I said, it’s really early, guys. So I don’t want to sit here and tell you that Chris is back, but it’s a lot better than it was a couple of weeks ago, because he’s out there.”