Offseason workouts begin
Drake looking forward to pads, contact
DAVIE — Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake was looking forward to Monday, the first day players reported for the start of the offseason workout program, for a long time. He only wishes the Collective Bargaining Agreement allowed more activity on the first day.
“I can’t wait to get started,” Drake said Friday at the Dolphins Cancer Challenge Celebrity Golf Tournament. “I wish we were putting on pads, but the CBA kind of doesn’t allow that. So I look forward to just getting back in the groove of working out with the team, running around with [quarterback Ryan Tannehill] back at the helm again, so I’m excited.”
Everyone was expected to report to the team’s facility in Davie on Monday reported. Phase One of the three-phase offseason workout program, which lasts two weeks, consists of strength and conditioning training. Miami has its first round of organized team activities May 22-24.
Miami lost a number of veteran faces, most notably the Pro Bowl trio of center Mike Pouncey, wide receiver Jarvis Landry and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, as well as safety Michael Thomas, a special teams captain and occasional starter, and running back Damien Williams, a core special teams player and thirddown specialist.
But the Dolphins return six starters on offense — Drake, right tackle Ja’Wuan James, left tackle Laremy Tunsil, right guard Ted Larsen (he played left guard last year) and wide receivers Kenny Stills and DeVante Parker. That doesn’t include Tannehill, who returns from a 20-game absence, including the playoffs, due to a left knee injury.
Miami returns eight starters on defense: defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, defensive ends Cameron Wake and Andre Branch, linebacker Kiko Alonso, cornerbacks Cordrea Tankersley and Xavien Howard and safeties Reshad Jones and T.J. McDonald.
The Dolphins made a host of key additions, such as wide receivers Danny Amendola and Albert Wilson, running back Frank Gore, center Daniel Kilgore, left guard Josh Sitton and defensive end Robert Quinn and re-signed defensive end William Hayes.
Drake, who rushed for 644 yards last season, 444 of those in the final five games, said he’s a bit heavier.
“I wanted to put on a little more weight this year so I think I added about five or 10 pounds since the season ended, so I’m about 215 right now,” he said. “I know as I’m running around and things like that I’ll probably lose that weight, but maintaining it is definitely something I want to do.”
Drake said he’d likely lose five pounds during training camp “but I’ll still be at an optimum weight for the season.”
Drake, who will share backfield duties with Gore, said he thought it was a good idea to pack on the extra pounds. He also said he’s confident he can maintain the weight
“For just the long season the wear and tear that you kind of have to go through,” he said. “I feel like that weight won’t slow me down, it’ll just give the extra power and extra momentum that I need to go throughout the entire season.
“And I feel like it’s mostly just being conscious of what I put in my body, the timeliness of what I put in my body, just make sure I eat three meals a day with snacks in between, and just really being mindful of what I put in my body and that’s most important.”
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