Miami Dolphins vs Commanders joint practice: Why it’s too early to panic
One bad practice doesn't undo a whole offseason — here's why the reaction to Wednesday's session is bigger than what actually happened on the field
by Kupobeer
The Miami Dolphins had their first joint practice with the Washington Commanders today and the results were…..mixed. While I have always been of the school of thought that ore-season is a litmus test that doesn’t tell the teams entire story, I am not getting overly reactive to one joint practice with a very young team.
To start, several players sat out due to injury. Per the Palm Beach Post: WRs Kevin Coleman and Chris Bell, OL Jamaree Salyer, edge Clelin Ferrell, CB JuJu Brents and Chris Johnson, DT Zach Sieler, and safeties Dante Trader and Lonnie Johnson all missed time today. The injuries that really showed was on the secondary as Brents and Johnson are widely expected to be two of their starting corners.
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Jayden Daniels had his way against Miami’s defensive backs, connecting with Chig Okonkwo and hitting Treylon Burks for a 70-yard touchdown over Zayne Anderson and Michael Taaffe.
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Mike Sainristil intercepted Malik Willis and returned it for a pick-six — then celebrated by “punting” the ball.
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Dolphins WRs Malik Washington, AJ Henning, Jalen Tolbert, Theo Wease, and Cole Turner all had strong showings in red-zone/one-on-one work against Washington’s secondary, with several TD catches.
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Charles Omenihu got the better of Miami’s offensive line, sacking Willis late and batting down a Quinn Ewers pass earlier.
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Along the O-line, Washington’s defensive front (Odafe Oweh, Javon Kinlaw, K’Lavon Chaisson, Daron Payne) generally won their one-on-ones against Miami’s O-line, including newcomer Caedan Wallace giving up a sack.
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Michael Taaffe made a nice pass breakup in the end zone as time expired on the two-minute drill.
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Caleb Douglas was also noted as a bright spot in the Dolphins offensive sets (per The Sun Sentinel’s David Furones). He made several plays per Furones and other beat writers for Miami and Washington. Keep an eye on him as he is currently listed a starter on the Dolphins first depth chart.
Some of Miami’s struggles were (expectedly) in the secondary and offensive line. The Corner back room was always going to be a challenging group to start the season, and two of their projected starters sat today so I wouldn’t put much stock in them getting beat by a good Washington Receiver tandem. They still made some plays also. The O-line is also young, and will take some time to gel. We have to be realistic about where this team is. 180 million dollars in cap space is tied up on players no longer on the team. That does equate to a very deep team when injuries happen. The core things we need to take away from this pre-season, and the season in general, are answers to these questions:
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Are the young players from the last two drafts improving as they get more snaps?
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Is Malik Willis the answer at quarterback?
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What is the coaching staff development program showing as the teams depth is leaned on through the season?
If all of these questions yield positive fruit, the Dolphins will be in great shape for 2027. For now, enjoy that football is back and don’t get too worked up over a bad practice. This is the time to make mistakes. If the mistakes persist and don’t improve by November, then maybe it is time to worry.
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