Quinton Bell Is Becoming Miami’s Camp Sensation
Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Could the Miami Dolphins have a former wide receiver start at strongside linebacker? Heading into training camp, seeing that headline for the Dolphins might have been even more cause for concern about the state of the defense. Maybe it would even have inspired panic. But with the way Quinton Bell has performed in camp, it looks like far from the worst outcome for Miami.
Heading into training camp, Bell had been transferred back and forth from various practice squads 24 times since being selected in the seventh round by the then-Oakland Raiders in the 2019 NFL Draft. Bell played four games with the Atlanta Falcons during the 2022 season and another five with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which have thus far been his only tastes at NFL action. But if the last couple of weeks are any indication, that is going to change in a big way this season.
Bell spent his first three years playing wide receiver at Prairie View A&M before defensive coordinator Todd Middleton finally convinced him to switch to linebacker. Coming into the NFL, he was considered a project because he had only played one year on the defensive side of the ball.
Some project pieces take longer to develop, but the Dolphins look like they have gotten lucky that Bell, 28, took this long. Edge rushers Jaelen Phillips and Bradley Chubb haven’t hit the practice field yet because of injury, which has given Bell more time in front of the coaching staff to prove that he can be a contributor and maybe even a difference-maker for this team.
Just looking at Bell, you can tell why the coaching staff is excited to have him in camp. Outside linebacker coach Ryan Crow just joined the team this year, but has already been blown away by Bell’s size (6-foot-4, 253 pounds), and the way it’s translating to successful plays.
“He has the skill set to do what we’re asking him to do,” Crow said. “Yeah, he’s powerful and he has length. And he knows how to use them to his advantage and when you combine that with an attacking mindset then good things happen on the field.”
The coaching staff has noticed Bell’s play so much that he was recently awarded Miami’s Orange Jersey, which is given to the best player from the previous practice. Bell knows that the Orange Jersey is a big deal, but he wants that just to be the beginning of his success with the team.
“It’s all my hard work. It’s always a wonderful feeling when feel like you’re coming out here and grinding every day, trying to get better and just leaving it all out there and that work is being noticed and appreciated. It only makes you want to go harder, so I come out here every day. That orange jersey is only the beginning. I want to continue to stack these days, continue to get better, continue to gain trust with these coaches, that’s my main goal.”
Bell also believes that the tough road he’s had to go through to get to this point in his career has made him even more prepared for the chance he’s been getting this summer in South Beach.
“I feel like my whole career, starting in college, has just been a grind. ‘Get it out the mud,’ as we say, and going through that has just made me stronger…. I love when people tell me ‘No,’ because I’ve always known what I’m about and I’ve always known my skill set and what I can be. And I proved it in college, man. I had a great season playing one year of a position, and I know if I can do that, I can do anything. So I love the grind.
Phillips is expected sooner rather than later, and once he’s back, Bell will move back down on the depth chart, but we haven’t heard much about Chubb, who is still working his back from an ACL injury. Is there a chance that Chubb will sit out this entire season? That doesn’t seem to be the plan right now, but there has been so little talk about his return that you have to wonder.
If Chubb is out for most, or all of the season, that makes Bell’s impressive training camp even more crucial for the Dolphins. The defense was a weakness last year, and players like Bell, who are taking a monster step forward, could move the needle for this defense, turning it from a weakness to a strength.
Up Next