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Dolphins' Sam Eguavoen says he thrives with his back against the wall

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This offseason, the Miami Dolphins were set to have nearly all of their linebackers hitting free agency, but they decided to bring most of the group back on one-year deals.

That group includes Sam Eguavoen, who has been with Miami since 2019 after three seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL. Entering his fourth season with the Dolphins and his first under new head coach Mike McDaniel, he’ll have to prove that he’s deserving of not only a spot on the roster but playing time once the season starts.

After Sunday’s training camp session, Eguavoen was asked about dealing with competition, and he explained that it’s something he’s used to.

“Always competition,” Eguavoen said. “That’s just how I grew up. I was competing with my brother, and now I’m competing with my brothers in here. I embrace competition. I hype up the guys in front of me, I hype up the guys behind me, but I’m always comfortable. I’m always comfortable with my back against the wall. I get nervous when it isn’t against the wall. Just like you’re going to a bar, you always get to the back wall so you can see everything. So, I’m comfortable and I embrace competition.”

The former Red Raider said that he’s been working a lot at inside linebacker, a position that currently boasts Elandon Roberts, Duke Riley, Jerome Baker and rookie Channing Tindall. While there may be more results and promise with some of the guys around him, Eguavoen is still going to hit the competition with the same ferocity.

“I mean, it’s always the same thing,” he said. “That’s just the NFL. It’s a mindset thing, whether– even if I’m Tindall and I’m (drafted in the) third round or I got drafted first round. You have to have the mindset of my back is against the wall. I don’t care if I may be favored or anything like that because the goal is to stay in the league for a long time, and if you don’t have that mindset of ‘(competition (means) somebody is coming for your job,’ you’re not going to last. So I don’t look at the draft (and say), ‘Oh dang, they drafted a linebacker.’ At the end of the day, I have to do my best. I have to put my best foot forward and whatever happens, happens, and I’m OK with that.”

With his versatility and experience, Eguavoen has as good of a shot as any to make it through the final cuts.

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