Fullback isn’t a position that has much place in the Dolphins offense devised by head coach Joe Philbin and offensive coordinator Bill Lazor.
Every now and then, the situation calls for one and the team appears to be going the efficiency route in preparing for that possible need by simply adding to the responsibilities of another player. It is defensive tackle Earl Mitchell in this case and he caught a pair of passes in the flat Sunday after lining up in the backfield.
“A little levity,” Philbin said, via Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. “We’ll see if it’s utilized in a personnel level, but it’s Sunday in training camp and we’ve got nine days between [games] and every once in a while we’ll throw a pass to a defensive player. They get excited about it.”
Beasley reports it’s a bit more than just levity, however, as the Dolphins have given Mitchell reps at fullback since the spring during closed practices. Mitchell played running back early in his time at Arizona, so it’s not like he is entering totally uncharted waters and showing off his pass catching skills in an open session gives Miami’s opponents something else to think about on Sundays this fall.