A mild surprise on Miami Dolphins play allocation. And praise for Tua, who’s out ill

Not a ton of players on the Miami Dolphins or any other team get to play every down. The select group for Miami usually includes quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and the five starting offensive linemen.

Also, linebacker Jerome Baker, safety Bobby McCain, receiver DeVante Parker and — when healthy — cornerbacks Byron Jones and Xavien Howard play every snap or close to it.

Here’s who is surprisingly not on that list so far: ballyhooed free agent pickup Kyle Van Noy.

If there was any expectation that Van Noy would be an every down linebacker for the Dolphins, that hasn’t materialized in two of the three games. He played 41 of 64 defensive snaps in the opener, 58 of 61 in Week 2 and 52 of 66 in Week 3. That means Van Noy has been on the field for 79 percent of Miami’s defensive plays, compared with 93 percent for Baker.

The Dolphins suggested this week that not playing Van Noy every down is a reflection of a desire to create playing time for others, not a conditioning issue.

“There’s a lot of factors involved in that, but he’s in tremendous shape,” linebackers coach Anthony Campanile said. “He’s a guy who takes a ton of pride in being in great shape, so it’s never been for ‘hey, I’m gassed.’ It’s really just more so cycling guys in and that’s part of the rotation.”

The fact Van Noy is not playing every down does not mean the Dolphins are disappointed in him. Quite the contrary, in fact. Pro Football Focus says he ranks first among all linebackers with nine quarterback pressures and a 90.1 pass rushing grade. PFF ranks him 14th in 2020 performance among all NFL linebackers.

Against Jacksonville, he had a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery on the same play.

But Van Noy has struggled in pass coverage, an area where he typically has been quite competent. This season, he has allowed all five passes thrown against him to be caught for 101 yards, per PFF.

“I pride myself on being a disruptive player, whatever you want me to do,” he said. “That varies week to week.”

Outside linebackers coach Austin Clark said Van Noy’s “versatility is something that makes him really special. He elevated everybody’s game around him last week. He’s been doing a great job.”

Meanwhile, Baker has played all but 14 defensive snaps this season.

“The first thing is he’s in good physical condition,” defensive coordinator Josh Boyer said. “So he’s able to take as many reps as we can give him. He’s been all over the field.”

Defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander doesn’t directly coach Baker but explains his value: “It helps us in coverage with guys like ‘Bake’ who has the athleticism to get the depth in zone coverage and have the speed to really break down on check downs and be able to make open-field tackles as well as be able to do some things athletically when we want to play some man-to-man and matching up on certain guys. I think that that’s a weapon for us defensively, being able to utilize his skillset.”

TUA SIDELINED

Backup quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missed Wednesday’s practice with an unspecified illness. But coach Brian Flores said it’s not related to COVID-19. Practice squad rookie quarterback Reid Sinnett served as Ryan Fitzpatrick’s backup. Cornerback Byron Jones (Achilles/groin) was the only other Dolphin who missed practice altogether.

Fitzpatrick told Fox’s Joe Buck and Troy Aikman last week that there are “a million things” that Tagovailoa can do that Fitzpatrick “couldn’t dream of doing.”

He expanded on that in a podcast with ESPN’s Adam Schefter this week.

“There’s a million throws that he makes that I can’t,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’ve been around for a while and seen a lot of young guys. The two things that pop out to me about him are his accuracy and being able to throw with anticipation. And those two things, especially the anticipation part, is something that guys usually have to come into the league to learn and figure out, and he does a great job of that.

“And then, the other thing is his willingness to work and his willingness to ask questions, and his overall personality and how people tend to gravitate towards him because of the kind of guy he is off the field. Just watching him practice and all that, he’s going to be a great player.”

Fitzpatrick added: “Tua has an amazing future. It’s been really fun to get to know him and work with him. He asks a lot of great questions, and he’s really into it. He really enjoys the game. And that’s been fun for me, being a guy that’s able to provide some guidance for him and be there to answer any questions he has. I really enjoy that aspect of it because I feel like I’m tied into him and the success that he’ll have whenever that time comes.”