MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins got through the offseason workout program with a rousing endorsement from coach Mike McDaniel on Thursday.

But it won’t matter much if that momentum isn’t carried over during the players’ time off between Thursday’s final day of mandatory minicamp and the start of training camp in late July.

That’s why McDaniel spoke of how pleased he was through organized team activities and minicamp with a caveat. But he still spoke glowingly nonetheless.

“I’m very, very happy, as happy as I can be with where we’re at right now,” McDaniel said. “We have a lot of good players that have ambitions to be great, a lot of people that have high expectations for this team. … I’m super, super pumped about where we’re at in Phase 3 (the final one of the offseason program).”

But he knows a key month and a half away from team facilities is on the horizon for players, and it’s no good to the team if progress made is lost over that time and has to be rekindled at the start of camp.

“Now, what does that mean? Again, it means check that box — oh yeah, by the way, nothing,” McDaniel said. “Because the players have to understand that this is a stepping stone. Now, in front of us, we have an extended period of time off where we’re going to have to count on each other to stay in shape and beginning-of-training camp shape.”

Dolphins center Connor Williams did not show up on the final day of mandatory minicamp and remained the only unexcused absence from the three sessions this week.

Williams is due to be fined just north of $93,000 for missing all three days of minicamp. The team can rescind the fine if it chooses later, like it did with cornerback Xavien Howard in 2021 when his contract concerns were mended.

Fangio’s response

Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had an interesting response Thursday when pressed on an ESPN report last month that indicated Fangio might’ve ended up defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles had the Arizona Cardinals’ tampering situation with coach Jonathan Gannon, who previously held that role in Philadelphia, not occurred.

“That’s possible,” Fangio said, “but I won’t confirm nor deny it.”

In early May, ESPN’s Adam Schefter told 97.5 Fanatic in Philadelphia: “I think it impacted a lot of peoples’ lives. Vic Fangio, for example, probably would not have taken the Dolphins defensive coordinator job and would be the defensive coordinator in Philadelphia today if everything was on the up and up.”

Fangio took the 2022 season off on sabbatical after spending the three previous seasons as Denver Broncos coach, but he joined the Eagles staff on a two-week contract to help prepare their offense for the Kansas City Chiefs defense ahead of the Super Bowl. He was the most highly coveted defensive coordinator for this hiring cycle, and the Dolphins made him the league’s highest-paid defensive coordinator.

Rough day for the offense

The defense had a good day Thursday as the offense suffered five sacks and at least six sacks.

Offensive coordinator Frank Smith, whose unit had a good first two days of the three-day minicamp, didn’t seem overly concerned about Thursday’s performance. He was more interested in how they responded to their issues.

“We tried to put ourselves in some challenging situations to see how to respond to certain things we knew we’re going to probably see from the defense,” Smith said. “But overall, understanding that every point might not go the way that you anticipated it to go, but it’s just how do you respond?”

Camp observations

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa wasn’t particularly sharp Thursday, throwing two interceptions. The worst was one reminiscent of Baltimore last year. Tagovailoa, who was sharp in OTAs and the first two days of the three-day minicamp, was getting rushed by linebacker Cameron Goode and just threw the ball in the air.

The defense had a good day with five interceptions. Players with interceptions were cornerbacks Bryce Thompson, who had two Thursday and three for minicamp, cornerback Xavien Howard and safety Verone McKinley III. In addition to Tagovailoa’s two interceptions, Mike White had two, and Skylar Thompson had one.

Among defensive players who had sacks were Goode, Christian Wilkins (1.5), Brandon Pili, Josiah Bronson (0.5 sacks), Aubrey Miller and Emmanuel Ogbah.

Center/guard Liam Eichenberg wore the orange jersey Thursday, symbolic of the Player of the Day from Wednesday. Along with that designation, Eichenberg got to select Thursday’s music. Among his selections were Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival), Walk This Way (Aerosmith), Mississippi Queen (Mountain), Back in Black (AC/DC), Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum), Gypsy (Fleetwood Mac) and She’s Actin’ Single (Gary Stewart).

Wide receiver Braylon Sanders had a nice reception from Tagovailoa during 11-on-11. Sanders, who flashed as a rookie last season, has been low-profile amid a group that includes Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Robbie Chosen, among others.

Chosen had an impressive touchdown catch-and-run down the sideline on a pass thrown by White. Chosen has stood out at times during minicamp.

There was a small dustup involving Eichenberg and defensive lineman Raekwon Davis late in practice. A few others got involved but it wasn’t a big deal, just general feistiness.

Rookie safety Bennett Williams unintentionally put a hit on wide receiver River Cracraft and got immediately yanked and got a brief speech on the sideline from coach Mike McDaniel. We’ll call it a learning experience for Williams, who attended Oregon.

Rookie cornerback Cam Smith had a nice pass breakup against wide receiver Erik Ezukanma on a pass thrown by White. Ezukanma, who has had a decent minicamp, had a nice 20-yard reception on a pass thrown by Thompson.

Among players who didn’t participate, or didn’t fully participate Thursday, were offensive tackle Terron Armstead, edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, linebacker David Long Jr., linebacker Channing Tindall, defensive lineman Zach Sieler, cornerback Trill Williams, safety DeShon Elliott, offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi, cornerback Keion Crossen, safety Brandon Jones and center Connor Williams.