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Ifeatu Melifonwu Practicing on Sunday

Mike McDaniel at his Sunday media session stated that safety Ifeatu Melifonwu will practice on Sunday for the first time. He has been on the non-football injury list thus far in camp.

Melifonwu is penciled in to start next to Minkah Fitzpatrick this season at safety.

Melifonwu was a 3rd round pick out of Syracuse in 2021 by the Lions, pick 101 overall, and has had sporadic playing time with the Lions.

In 2024, he played in and started only three games with the Lions and had two stints on IR last season. In 2023, he played in 17 games, starting 6, and had 33 tackles. He has only had more than 15 tackles in a season once, which was the 2023 season.

Melifonwu has two career interceptions and 72 career tackles during his time in the NFL.

Melifonwu does have the ability to play CB as well, but will be used primarily as a safety for the Dolphins.

With Ashtyn Davis going down to injury last week, Melifonwu has a lot of weight on his shoulders as he is truly one of the few experienced safeties on the Dolphins roster.

Elijah Campbell has experience but is limited as a safety and not someone you want playing the position, especially as a starter, as he is more of a special teams contributor.

Dante Trader Jr has missed most of camp with an injury, and 2nd year player Patrick McMorris missed almost all of last season with an injury and is far from ready to start.

Although there is no update on Davis’s expected return, Melifonwu’s return to practice is a positive development for the Dolphins.

The goal now is to keep him healthy because he is the definition of an injury-prone player. If he can stay healthy the tandem of Fitzpatrick and Melifonwu could be a more than adquate pair at safety.

This article first appeared on Dolphins Talk and was syndicated with permission.

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