Terron Armstead reflects on a preseason packed with joint practices

The Miami Dolphins participated in joint practices with seven of nine preseason opponents since Mike McDaniel became head coach.

Friday’s 24-14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers marked the end of a unique preseason stretch for the Miami Dolphins. Miami’s starters rarely took the field during the games, but the Dolphins capitalized on joint practices against all three opponents.

Entering his 12th season, five-time Pro Bowler Terron Armstead skipped preseason games but sharpened his skills during joint practices.

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“It’s all about your intent, your mindset when you’re going into the joint practice,” Armstead said during the fourth quarter of Friday’s game while on the CBS Miami broadcast. “Never done more than two, I haven’t, but with us and the way that we try to approach every day – it’s put our best foot forward every day. We have a standard that we never want to let drop, so it really doesn’t matter if we’re going against each other or going against another team.

“That standard is the same, so the joint practices doesn’t matter if it’s two or three. For us, we like to approach all of those practices with full intent.”

The Dolphins have practiced against seven of nine preseason opponents since Mike McDaniel took over as head coach in 2022. Following practices against the Bucs, Washington Commanders, and Atlanta Falcons, this season is the first time Miami practiced with all three preseason opponents.

“It breaks camp up,” McDaniel said last year when discussing joint practices. “It gives a little newness to it. It reinvigorates it, but also – there’s only so much scheme that one side of the ball can have.”

As the Dolphins turn the page on an eventful preseason, the focus shifts to Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Armstead’s workload was managed strategically, but he’s ready to hit the ground running in Week 1.

“Yeah, once we’re able to close this chapter of the preseason, all eyes on the Jaguars for sure, for sure – game planning, all-in preparation, ramping up, I’ll be doing a lot more reps for sure in anticipation of Week 1,” Armstead said. “It’s going to be a big matchup, we got to start fast coming out this season.”