Here are Miami Dolphins' 2024 NFL organized team activity practices scheduled for May
The NFL announced the Dolphins' six organized team activity dates.
Miami, like all NFL teams, will have a series of informal summer practices that take place for a few hours a day over several weeks, before training camp.
Those dates are: May 20, 21, 23, 28, 29 and 31.
It's important to note that these are typically not open to the public.
Typically, media are permitted to cover some or many of these OTA's.
Those six OTA's are three fewer than the NFL's maximum allowable of nine.
Coach Mike McDaniel used the less-is-more strategy in 2023.
"A lot of things factor into it," McDaniel said in 2023. "I think that by and large, players, coaches, people in general, do best when ‘why’ is explained to them. In this particular situation, I think that it is crucial that we have, as convicted, present, deliberate, football players when they’re approaching practice and really recognizing how each opportunity is very crucial to the development of the team."
Some NFL teams will announce nine OTA's and then end up canceling up to the last three if they feel good about how things went. For McDaniel, this is more of an upfront and direct approach.
"I think when you’re able to acknowledge players’ hard work, and they get positively reinforced with actual action, I think it goes a long way," McDaniel said in 2023. "They are afforded the less practices because they’ve earned it because of the way they’ve approached the whole offseason. My standards for preparation are pretty high and they have recognized that and really heeded to the expectation across the board. I think in those types of circumstances, everyone benefits with a little bone here or there.”
Some of the new players who will benefit from the Dolphins' OTA's will include: center Aaron Brewer, tight end Jonnu Smith, linebacker Jordyn Brooks, safety Jordan Poyer and cornerback Kendall Fuller.
Consider, too, that the Dolphins will run an entirely different defensive scheme under first-year coordinator Anthony Weaver, who joins the team from the Ravens.
McDaniel has said he expects Tua Tagovailoa will attend the OTA's, even if a new long-term contract is not finalized. Those have been very valuable as Tua has taken his game to another level in each of the last two seasons in McDaniel's offense.
"The contract and contract negotiations, those things take time," McDaniel said at the recent NFL league meetings in Orlando. "I do expect Tua to be in OTAs only because my working relationship with Tua. For two years, I’ve watched Tua gain some unbelievable residuals towards the season in that process. It’s part of the reason Tua is who he is because he’s always learning, never staying the same and always working on his craft.
"I know the one thing that he likes to do now in his life, besides be a kick a** dad to Ace and Maizy, is play football with his teammates. That’s what I expect. I don’t really put too much thought beyond that. I understand the business, but I also understand my job with Tua is to make sure that his football is continuing to evolve and the best days are in front of him, which are both of our goals.”
Looking at Miami's AFC East colleagues, all three of those teams have announced nine OTA's.
It's possible any of those teams could trim to six, seven or eight in the future.
But either way, it seems clear McDaniel is comfortable with a series of six highly efficient, focused and productive organized team activities.
The Dolphins will also have three mandatory mini-camp practices: June 4, 5 and 6.
Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Organized team activity schedule announced for NFL's Miami Dolphins 2024
