The Miami Dolphins hold their annual rookie minicamp this weekend. But, what is it?
The Miami Dolphins open their 2025 rookie minicamp on Friday, giving first-year players their first taste of life in the NFL. The three-day session factors into the Dolphins’ offseason training program, the on-going ramp up focused primarily on conditioning and playbook install, for the year. It marks the first chance many of the drafted and undrafted rookies will have to get into the team’s facilities, experience the rhythm of a workout, and get them familiar with the playbook’s basics.
What is allowed during the minicamp? Who will be there for the Dolphins? And why is it an important step in the offseason schedule? It is time to break it down.
Dolphins rookies
The rookie minicamp is primarily for…rookies. Both drafted and undrafted players coming straight out of college are expected to be in attendance. The team can also invite players to come try out, including up to five veteran players who they may be considering adding to the roster.
Drafted rookies:
Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan
Jonah Savaiinaea, G, Arizona
Jordan Phillips, DT, Maryland
Jason Marshall, Jr., CB, Maryland
Dante Trader, Jr., S, Maryland
Ollie Gordon II, RB, Oklahoma State
Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas
Zeek Biggers, DT, Georgia
Expected Undrafted Rookies:
Ted Kushi, T, Western Michigan
John Saunders, Jr., S, Ole Miss
Alex Huntley, DT, South Carolina
Addison West, G, Western Michigan
Ethan Robinson, CB, Minnesota
Eugene Asante, LB, Auburn
Bandon Adams, CB, UCF
Kneeland Hibbett, LS, Alabama
Josh Priebe, G, Michigan
Jalin Conyers, TE, Texas Tech
Theo Wease, WR, Missouri
AJ Henning, WR, Northwestern
Nate Noel, RB, Missouri
Andrew Armstrong, WR, Arkansas
Monaray Baldwin, WR, Baylor
Note: These players are reported to have agreed to join the Dolphins, but the team has not yet announced their signings. They likely will be announced on Friday.
Teams are also allowed to bring in “first-year” players who have previously been signed by a team in the league, but did not accrue credit for a year of service time.
When is the rookie minicamp?
Under the NFL/NFL Players Association collective bargaining agreement, the rookie minicamp is held either on the weekend following the NFL Draft each year or the next weekend after that. The Dolphins typically give it the extra week, with this year’s scheduled minicamp starting Friday, May 9, and running through Sunday, May 11.
What is allowed?
Teams can conduct up to 10 hours of activities during the minicamp, with any meal times included in those hours. The rookie minicamp follows a lot of the same rules as the veteran offseason program, with some on-field work allowed but no live contact.
What happens if someone is injured but has not signed their contract?
Rookies do not have to have signed their contract with the team to participate in the rookie minicamp, which would appear to leave them in limbo if an injury occurred. However, teams must continue negotiating in good faith, as if no injury had happened. In the modern era, when rookie contracts are essentially slotted into a salary order based on draft position, there is not a lot of negotiation that has to happen anyway, leaving little concern of not coming to a deal.
For a veteran tryout player, necessary medical expenses are covered by the team, but there is no requirement for a contract to be extended to the player.
What has Miami done in the past?
The Dolphins seem to look at the rookie minicamp as an onboarding and orientation opportunity. While they will do some on-field work, the three days are primarily used to make sure everything is right for the players when training camp arrives in the summer. The players will spend time in classes, both to better themselves personally and professionally, as well as to work on the playbook. They will be introduced to how the Dolphins practice, letting them get an idea of how a day during training camp and the regular season will run. They will also have their chance to see the locker room and their jerseys, giving them a chance to make their dream of being an NFL player into a reality.
During the 2024 rookie minicamp, Dolphins linebacker Mohamed Kamara, spoke with the media about getting that chance to see his jersey, though the full scope of it had not sunk in even as the team went to the practice field. “Today is the first time [I put it on],” he said on the Saturday of camp. “I didn’t really get to feel that moment yet, because as soon as I put it on, we had to go outside. I couldn’t really tell you.”
Kamara also recognized that minicamp was not the goal but the first step. “Man, my brother called me last night,” he explained. “He said, ‘You made it to the locker room.’ So that’s all it means, I just made it to the locker room, nothing else. I still have to prove myself.”
The Dolphins have cancelled the Sunday portion of the rookie minicamp in the past, using just two days.
