Dolphins Doing Joint Practice Tripleheader Again

The Miami Dolphins' 2025 preseason schedule has been finalized, and all three games will be preceded by joint practices with the opponent.

The Dolphins will be following the same format they used last summer by conducting joint practices with/against the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars ahead of the preseason matchup against each team.

The Dolphins will practice in Chicago, Detroit and then with the Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium.

As a reminder, NFL rules limit teams to four joint practices per year, meaning that like last year the Dolphins will work twice with/against one of their preseason opponents and once against the other two.

As of mid-Thursday afternoon, times and dates of the joint practices remained undetermined.

Based on the game schedule announced Thursday morning, kicking off with their game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday, August 10 at 1 p.m. ET and followed by a game against the defending NFC North champion Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Saturday, August 16 at 1 p. m. ET, a logical scenario has emerged.

Based on the previous training camp schedules against Mike McDaniel, it's easy to see the Dolphins flying to Chicago for a joint practice on Friday, August 8, the game August 10, followed by two days off, and then joint practices with the Lions on Wednesday, August 13 and Thursday, August 14 ahead of the preseason game on the 16th.

That would leave one joint practice with the Jaguars, which would be schedule for Thursday, August 21, ahead of the preseason finale on Saturday, August 23 at 7 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium.

Of course, there could be a totally different scenario at play here, but this one seems pretty logical based on the back-to-back games in the Midwest.

The Dolphins have never had a joint practice with Jacksonville or Detroit; they worked two days with the Bears in 2021 when Brian Flores was head coach.

The Dolphins last year conducted two joint practices with/against the Atlanta Falcons and one each with/against the Washington Commanders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

THE PRESEASON MATCHUPS

The Dolphins are 4-10-1 all-time against the Bears in the preseason, with the teams' last meeting in 2021 — the Dolphins lost that game 20-13. This will be the first NFL action for new Bears coach Ben Johnson, who they hired after a successful tenure as the Lions’ offensive coordinator. Johnson also spent seven seasons on the Dolphins staff from 2012 to 2018. 

Speaking of the Lions, the Dolphins will face another former coach in Week 2 of the preseason. Lions head coach Dan Campbell was on the Dolphins staff from 2010 through 2015, including a stint as the interim head coach in 2015. 

Miami is 6-1 all-time against the Lions in the preseason, but the teams haven’t met since 1999.  

Lastly, the Dolphins will play the Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium. Miami is 6-5 all-time in the preseason against the Jaguars. The teams played in the preseason finale before the 2023 season, with the Dolphins dropping that game 31-18. However, the Dolphins did beat the Jaguars in the 2024 season opener. 

Like the Bears, the Jaguars are coming into the 2025 season with a new coach. The team hired Liam Coen after his successful tenure as the Buccaneers' offensive coordinator. It could also be an opportunity for the Dolphins fans to get a look at two-way phenom Travis Hunter. 

Although he likely won’t play because front-line players typically sit out the preseason finale, there’s a small chance Hunter sees the field after the Jaguars traded up to second overall to select the Colorado star. 

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