Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley revealed the preseason plan for starters and injury updates for multiple key players ahead of the matchup with the Washington Commanders.
The Miami Dolphins are set for a joint practice with the Washington Commanders on Aug. 12 to prepare for their upcoming preseason matchup on Aug. 14. With the first chance for the coaching staff to evaluate the players, head coach Jeff Hafley revealed what the plan is to play starters.
Hafley emphatically said that every player needs to operate with the intention of being ready to play.
"Everybody on our team right now needs to be ready to play," Hafley said.
Despite Hafley not saying outright that starters are playing, this is about as much of a guarantee that the Dolphins starters will be out on the field to some degree. This also means that it will be the first chance that the NFL world gets to see what quarterback Malik Willis can do in a game setting.
Hafley may want to play Miami starters, but that also does not mean that the Commanders will have their starters on the field.
What Hafley did say about the matchup, apart from offering huge praise to head coach Dan Quinn, is that he expects the Washington team to "play good defense." However, the Dolphins coach is looking for improvement each week and against each opponent.
"I have a ton of respect for Dan Quinn. As a defensive coach and as a head coach, Dan Quinn's teams are gonna play good defense ... whether it's the Giants, the Falcons, I don't care who we play right now. It's to get more process than result.
"I wanna see us go out and compete. I want to see us execute and be detailed. I want to see us be extremely physical and run and hit and play the game clean. I want to see us better than the Giants than we were against Washington, and I want to see us better against Atlanta than we were against the Giants," Hafley said.
Hafley has been intentional about what he wants to see from the team, which is to get better at every joint practice and game. Going back to his plan with the starters, this is a time when the Dolphins coach wants to see where players stand in terms of their growth.
The Dolphins head coach also indicated that he will have a better plan in place in terms of which players will get more snaps in the live setting based on how many reps they get during practice.
Despite starters assumed to play, it could vary on which players stay on the field longer based on what they accomplish during practice.
If a player gets sizable reps during practice against the Commanders on Wednesday, then they are likely to be playing a bit more during the preseason matchup on Froday.
Hafley Offers Big Injury Updates on Multiple Dolphins Players
Kicker Zane Gonzalez left practice on Saturday and has now been given a "week-to-week" status.
When asked about cornerback Juju Brents, Hafley indicated that his injury is nothing "long-term."
"Juju will not practice this week, but I don't think it will be anything long-term. If I wanted to play it cautious, I would say Juju will be out this week," Hafley said.
The more serious injury update was for newly acquired edge rusher Clelin Ferrell, who will be out for "weeks."
"He will be a few weeks," Hafley said of Ferrell.
Hafley then went into updates on players who have been out due to previously reported injuries. Tight end Ben Sims, wide receiver Kevin Coleman, and safety Dante Trader Jr.
"I don't expect Coleman this week. Sims, getting close, I don't think he will practice this week. Dante, I don't think will practice this week. They're getting close. Hopefully, this week," Hafley said.
Miami, like many NFL teams, may be going into its first preseason game down some key players. However, those key players may not have played at all anyway.
The idea is to leave the joint practice and preseason matchup healthy, as Hafley put it.
