The Miami Dolphins took part in their second joint practice of 2025 on Wednesday, joining the Detroit Lions’ workout after taking part in one day of practice last week with the Chicago Bears. As what happened last week, Miami came out flat in their practice with another team, failing to find a rhythm throughout the day. The good news for Miami is they get a second chance to get right this week, taking part in a second day of practices with the Lions on Thursday.
“I think, today, offensively was a very frustrating day in regards to what we wanted to do, what we said we wanted to do,” Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said after Wednesday’s workouts. “Came out and we just weren’t able to get things jump-started, so that was very frustrating.”
The Lions repeatedly pressured Tagovailoa and the rest of the Dolphins quarterbacks, pushing through the offensive line seemingly at will. Tagovailoa avoided the interceptions he threw against the Bears, but the Lions defense harassed him and muddied the pocket throughout the day.
Tagovailoa continued his evaluation of the offense’s Wednesday performance, “Some of the frustrating things were, we couldn’t get ourselves jump-started as an offense. We couldn’t gain that momentum to where, okay, all we needed was one play and then jump-start the offense, whether it was move the ball, whether it was one of the third-down team periods, another team period, red zone. It just felt like we didn’t have the energy that we’re used to when we practice and when we play against opponents, so that’s what I’m talking about when I talk about it was frustrating today.”
Miami’s offense has already been hampered by injuries this year, with wide receiver Tyreek Hill sidelined with an oblique injury and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle limited as he worked his way back after a hard hit during the practice with the Bears.
“They are day to day,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said of the receivers before Wednesday’s practice. “You’ll see Waddle [during the practices] for sure. You’re going to see Tyreek out there, we’re just very much monitoring him so that we can protect him against himself in joint practice stuff based on the past.”
The Dolphins are also without starting right tackle Austin Jackson, who is dealing with a leg injury after being stepped on in practice earlier this summer. Larry Borom has been filling in for Jackson, but Dolphins clearly missed Jackson on Wednesday, with Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson beating Borom several times on the day.
The Miami struggles were not only on offense, however, as the Lions were able to attack the Dolphins’ secondary behind a strong performance from Detroit starting quarterback Jared Goff. The Dolphins’ cornerbacks are the most significant question mark on the team this year, with younger players being asked to step into bigger roles this season.
Detroit wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had a big day, routinely getting past the Miami cornerbacks. He was often matched with Dolphins corner Jack Jones, but it did not matter who was opposite the receiver. “It was a good day,” St. Brown said after the practice. “That was a lot of fun.”
Goff also showed off his chemistry with wide receiver Jameson Williams and tight end Sam La Porta, carving through Miami’s defense seemingly at will.
Tagovailoa looked to the positive of a day full of frustration, explaining, “When you face an opponent like that in practice, and you get to see some of those looks early on, that’s good for a lot of our younger guys, that’s good for our guys up front to see how different games can look, where they bring guys from; inside, outside, and present their different looks within their pressure. It definitely helps in challenging us early on for those looks when we get into later in December and January.
“Everybody can learn from something in this game. We take a lot of what they did today, we are going to go look at the film, we are going to go watch it, see what we can correct, and learn from that.”
“I don’t think you put this behind you. I think you have to face this head-on. Any of these challenges, any of these hardships you go through as a team collectively, you’ve got to look aty it head on, you’ve got to face it, you’ve got to look at it for what it is, you’ve got to learn from it. Then you come out the next day and you show your teammates, did I learn from it yesterday, or did I not.”
The Dolphins will look to prove they learned from Wednesday during Thursday’s practice. The teams will also meet on Saturday in the second week of the NFL’s preseason schedule.
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