The Dolphins open camp on Wednesday and one of the first decisions they’ll be making is what to do with left tackle Branden Albert.
Albert has been rehabbing last year’s torn ACL and the team has the option of putting him on the physically unable to perform list if they feel he’s not ready for practice on the first day. Coach Joe Philbin is hopeful that’s not the case, saying that it would be ideal to have Albert on the field at some point during preseason games after a quick return to practice.
“The hope is -- and once we get guys through physicals when they come in in a couple days we’ll know more -- but the hope is to move him out of the rehab portion and into the football portion,” Philbin said, via the Miami Herald. “And we have to do it in a way that makes sense. It’s not going to be first day, every team rep, here we go, let’s do an Oklahoma drill and let him and the guys whack people around. That’s step one. Getting him out of the rehab mode and into the football practice mode and in the gradual progression of getting back.”
Having Albert in the lineup for a preseason game might be ideal, but his importance to a line that still has to figure out who will be playing guard will probably lead to doses of caution that assure he’ll be there for the games that count.