DAVIE, Fla. — New Dolphins running back Jordan Howard, one of eight free-agent signees who participated in a slew of introductory teleconferences with local media Thursday, is in isolation in the Miami suburb of Aventura. A month ago, the former Philadelphia and Chicago running back never envisioned he’d be spending his days in this fashion, but it’s the way things have been going recently in an offseason that’s been, well…
“It’s been pretty chill until the coronavirus hit … coronavirus definitely made everything pretty weird,” he said.
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All around the league players are trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy and stay healthy as the numbers of Americans with COVID-19 rises. Team facilities are closed. Local gyms are closed. Many cities and states have requested its residents stay at home. It’s a strange situation.
Defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, a signee from Kansas City, is a native of Nigeria. He planned on visiting his home country but the pandemic changed those plans.
Dolphins center/guard Ted Karras, who spent his previous four seasons with New England, is doing his best to adjust.
“I’m here in just a little town right outside of Foxborough,” he said. “I’m just working out. My neighbor’s got a rack in his garage right across the street. I’m just running up and down the street. I’m doing band workouts. I’m doing anything I can to get it done. It’s pretty crazy. I hope it calms down soon so I can get down there and get to work.”
At one time not long ago the NFL offseason was progressing as usual. The Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine went on as planned, and, to a certain extent, so did free agency.
And with free agency comes the annual good vibrations and over-the-top optimism that visits NFL cities each year at this time.
Miami’s free-agent signees gushed with teenage excitement Thursday as they talked about coach Brian Flores.
Linebacker Elandon Roberts, who was with Flores in New England, said he’s with the Dolphins because of Flores.
“My No. 1 reason (I’m with Miami), like I keep saying, Coach Flores made me feel so comfortable,” Roberts said. “I’m 100 percent bought in. I can’t wait to get down there.”
Defensive end/linebacker Kyle Van Noy, another player who was with Flores in New England, also professed his love for his former coach.
Cornerback Byron Jones, who got a five-year, $82.5 million contract that makes him the league’s highest-paid at his position, hasn’t even met Flores yet but he’s sold on his new coach.
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“He’s a young coach and I love that,” said Jones, who comes to Miami from Dallas. “He’s got young energy. … I’ve heard a lot of good things about him throughout the league, I spoke to a couple of coaches and players throughout the whole process and they had nothing but good things to say about him. That’s exciting for me, just to be on a team he’s leading.”
That’s where things are the same as usual in free agency.
Now, however, things are grinding to a halt. Player visits have been prohibited because very few people nationwide are traveling due to the threat of illness.
Ogbah said he’s been cautious recently. He tries to stay indoors as much as possible and he’s gone old-school — pushups and situps — with his training. To pass the time he plays video games and watches Netflix.
As expected, each of the teleconference participants talked football.
Van Noy, who had a career-best 6.5 sacks last year, mentioned his versatility, which is a big reason he’s expected to excel in Miami’s 4-3 and 3-4 defensive schemes.
“I don’t like being called a D-end or linebacker or anything,” he said. “I’m just a football player. My versatility will be able to be a matchup problem for any coach because you never know where I will line up and match up against.”
Howard, who was sidelined for the late part of last season with a shoulder injury, said he’s “100 percent” recovered. Although he said he hasn’t discussed his role with coaches, he sounded as though he’s ready to give the Dolphins’ running game a dose of what it needs.
“I’d describe my running style as rugged, pretty physical,” said Howard, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in two of his three seasons in Chicago, and had 935 rushing yards in his third season.
“I like to make the defenders feel me. I’d rather hit them than them hit me. I definitely try to make them quit, that way by the fourth quarter, they don’t really want to tackle.”
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Guard Ereck Flowers, the University of Miami standout who also played at Miami Norland High School, said he’s happy to be back home. He also said the switch to left guard from left tackle last season in Washington played more to his strengths. He also added playing alongside Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff helped because it showed him what it takes to reach that level.
Defensive Shaq Lawson, who is being counted on to give Miami a much-improved pass rush, likes the idea of joining Van Noy and Ogbah.
“We’ve got three great guys to go rush the passer, so it can be special,” he said.
Players also talked about their chances in the division.
Karras, mindful that New England quarterback Tom Brady has left the AFC East, said the division is wide open.
“We’ve got as good of a shot as anybody else in the division,” he said, “but it’s going to take hard work and dedication. We’re going to have to come together and really buy in and work our hardest to get better every day. If we can do that, then we have just as much of a shot as the other three teams in this division.”
Lawson, who spent the previous four seasons in the AFC East with Buffalo, was also cautiously optimistic.
“Our No. 1 goal is to come down there and take it one day at a time, build a team and see what develops,” he said.
But the biggest trending topic Thursday was COVID-19, and perhaps no one summed things up better than Flowers, who is riding things out in his hometown of Miami.
“I’m ready for this thing to be over with, really,” he said. “It’s kind of boring.”
(Top photo of Jordan Howard: Bryan M. Bennett / Getty Images)