Spotlight on Young Players in Preseason Opener

Miami Dolphins Likely to Sit Out Several Veterans Against Atlanta Falcons

Edge rusher Chop Robinson, the Miami Dolphins' first-round draft pick, meets with reporters during minicamp. / HAL HABIB / The Palm Beach Post / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Miami Dolphins will open their preseason schedule against the Atlanta Falcons on Friday night, and it figures to be showcase for young players and depth veterans.

The game, which will kick off at 7 p.m. ET, will be televised on the CBS South Florida affiliate, as well as in Atlanta and Honolu, and will be replayed on NFL Network on Saturday at 1:30 a.m. and Wednesday at noon.

The game being shown live in Honolulu is a testament to Tua Tagovailoa's popularity, but the Dolphins quarterback isn't expected to play — head coach Mike McDaniel suggested reporters wouldn't be surprised by his playing status decision.

But Tagovailoa won't be alone in merely watching this game because the Dolphins likely will be sitting out most, if not all, of their front-line players, along with those nursing injuries.

This means we shouldn't expect to see Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert, Durham Smythe, Terron Armstead, Austin Jackson, Braxton Berrios, Zach Sieler, Calais Campbell, Aaron Brewer, David Long Jr., Jordyn Brooks, Jalen Ramsey, Jevon Holland, Kendall Fuller, Jordan Poyer, along with others who have been nursing injuries, such as Erik Ezukanma, Salvon Ahmed and Cam Smith.

As a point of reference, the Dolphins had 34 players sit out the 2023 preseason opener, which also was against Atlanta and ended in a 19-3 loss.

SHOWCASE FOR YOUNG PLAYERS

The most prominent players who should or could see action would include the team's 2024 draft picks, though fifth-round linebacker Mohamed Kamara missed the past two practices with an undisclosed issue.

But we should see Chop Robinson, Patrick Paul, Jaylen Wright, Malik Washington and Patrick McMorris in action, and possibly for a long time.

It will be interesting to see whether the Dolphins use any of the offensive linemen listed first on their initial depth chart of 2024, namely either Robert Jones or Liam Eichenberg. Another mystery player is Emmanuel Ogbah, who has been impressive in camp but also wasn't on the roster when July arrived. Ogbah was among one of the rare prominent veterans who did play in that 2023 preseason opener.

With Tua out, it'll be interesting to see how the playing time is split up between Mike White and Skylar Thompson in light of Mike McDaniel's comments this week, with the best guess being that each will get one half.