MIAMI GARDENS — Chop Robinson's pro debut for the Miami Dolphins is expected to come Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium.

And it's appropriate that it comes against the Washington Commanders.

"My dad's a big Commanders fan," Robinson said after a training camp practice this week. "He loves the Commanders, especially when Kirk Cousins was there, Alex Smith, all those guys. I've kind of been around it my whole life. My grandparents are Commanders fans. They live around right by the stadium. Kind of grew up around that area."

Robinson, the Dolphins' first-round pick, was raised in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

That's about 26 miles to Commanders Stadium and about 43 miles to the Ravens' M&T Bank Stadium.

Depending on traffic, each trip might take about an hour or more.

"Growing up, I was a Ravens fan, back when they had Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, Anquan Boldin, all those guys," Chop said.

Robinson missed Miami's preseason opener due to a minor injury.

But the Dolphins vs. the Commanders should mark the preseason debut of Robinson and also some starters, such as quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Miami Dolphins vs. Washington Commanders: Watch Chop Robinson

The Commanders aren't very good, so it's certainly possible Chop gets his first pro sack on Saturday.

Dolphins edge rusher Jaelan Phillips said he's been encouraging Chop to be more emotive. The thinking is Chop's youthful energy could be contagious.

"Once I showed him my chop celebration," Robinson said. "We were just talking in the meeting room. I was showing him my chop celebration, he was like, 'When you get that sack, I better see that,' or he's going to be mad, so when I get that sack, I'm definitely going to hit that celebration."

Chop says a preseason sack won't really count. But we may still see that celebration.

Phillips praises Chop's explosive first step.

This week, Miami coach Mike McDaniel praised Chop's professional approach.

"He has gone about it the way you’d want, you’d really hope from a player perspective to really add value to the team because he is really earning the respect of his teammates each and every day," McDaniel said.

Robinson is going to have to focus more on run defense in the NFL than he did at Penn State. That's almost always the case when an edge rusher makes the pro transition.

"He’s improving on things that he’s done well in college," McDaniel said. "He’s improving on things that he’s never done."

Miami Dolphins preseason: Chop Robinson debut reason to watch

The Dolphins are hoping Robinson can complement veterans Phillips and Emmanuel Ogbah and help with effective repetitions before Bradley Chubb returns from a knee injury.

Miami coaches have worked hard with Chop to refine techniques.

"Really just my hands and setting the edge," Chop said. "Sometimes I could just set the edge with just using my shoulder and stuff like that. But getting off the ball with my speed, getting my hands inside the tight end or tackle, and being able to set it and just go from two hands to one hand. I've just been able to, been good with that."

Robinson played at the University of Maryland as a freshman before transferring to Penn State.

"I mean a lot of people were frustrated when I transferred," Robinson said. "But the real ones knew. They still wished the best for me and everything like that. So it turned out to be the best thing for me anyway."

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Robinson's family plans to attend the game on Saturday night.

There's no way Chop's dad will be wearing any Commanders gear, right?

I mean clearly, he's all in on the Dolphins now, right?

"Of course," Chop said, smiling.

Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins' Chop Robinson makes NFL debut vs. family-favorite Commanders