What stood out in terms of play counts in the Miami Dolphins’ 14-6 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2025 preseason finale of 2025, was how spread out and evenly balanced the work load was.
As head coach Mike McDaniel had suggested before the joint practice Thursday, all Dolphins starters not dealing with injuries took part in the game, including QB Tua Tagovailoa, DT Zach Sieler and DB Minkah Fitzpatrick.
A total of 17 players wound up not playing, including kicker Jason Sanders, who sustained some kind of injury during pregame warmups. Also not playing were RB Jaylen Wright, WR Tyreek Hill, CB Kendall Sheffield, LB Jordyn Brooks, S Ashtyn Davis, S Dante Trader Jr., CB Ethan Bonner, RB De’Von Achane, FB Alec Ingold, OL Andrew Meyer, T Bayron Matos, T Austin Jackson, OL Liam Eichenberg, TE Darren Waller, TE Julian Hill and DT Kenneth Grant.
Waller took part in pregame warmups, but head coach Mike McDaniel said there never was a tough of him playing in the game after he was activated off PUP just this past week.
— After sitting out the middle preseason game against the Detroit Lions, Tagovailoa wound up playing almost the same amount of snaps as he did in the opener against the Chicago Bears, though his 17 against Jacksonville came on three possessions as opposed to one against Chicago. It’s probably safe to assume his night would have been over earlier had the Dolphins offense not gone three-and-out the first two times it had the ball.
— With Achane and Wright both out, rookie sixth-round pick Ollie Gordon II got another chance to showcase his skills, and he led the way among running backs by playing exactly half of the team’s 58 offensive snaps. Gordon once again showed promise before giving way to Mike Boone (17 snaps) and Aaron Shampklin (12).
— Unlike the preseason opener, rookie second-round pick Jonah Savaiinaea and veteran Larry Borom both left the game along with Tua and the rest of the starting offensive line after that third drive that ended with Malik Washington’s touchdown.
— Guard Braeden Daniels was the only offensive linemen who finished out the game after the starters left, with Ryan Hayes and Kion Smith playing all but four of the remaining snaps. New guard Mason Brooks and tackle Jalen McKenzie each played only four snaps, which would seem like a clear indication they’re not making the 53-man roster.
— At wide receiver, it’s worth noting that the three players in the battle for the fifth and possibly sixth wide receiver spots on the 53-man roster all got basically the same amount of snaps, 26 for Dee Eskridge, 25 for Tahj Washington and 24 for Erik Ezukanma.
— At tight end, Pharaoh Brown started and played 18 snaps, and seems like a lock. The rest of the snaps would pretty evenly distributed, though the fact Tanner Conner’s 16 snaps came mostly in the first half might bode well for his chances of making the 53.
— Finally at quarterback, Zach Wilson getting 25 snaps to Quinn Ewers’ 16 was yet another indication he’s cemented as the No. 2 quarterback heading into the regular season.
— You want to talk balance in the playing time? Not one Dolphins player was on the field for more than 26 of the team’s 55 defensive snaps, which represents 47 percent, and that one player was cornerback Isaiah Johnson. Additionally, a whopping 19 players got between 17 and 26 defensive snaps.
— Looking at the bottom end of the snap count, five players were tied with a low of seven defensive snaps. That list includes three starters — Tyrel Dodson, Zach Sieler and Minkah Fitzpatrick — along with rookie free agent cornerback Ethan Robinson and veteran cornerback Mike Hilton. While the Dolphins keep telling us they simply know what Hilton can do, his usage in the preseason suggests just as much that he simply doesn’t figure into their plans and just might get released.
— Among the edge rushers who have flashed throughout training camp, there was remarkable balance in the snap counts there as well, with Derrick McLendon played 17 snaps, and Grayson Murphy, Cameron Goode and Quinton Bell all playing 14. The one outlier there was second-year edge player Mohamed Kamara, who got nine defensive snaps toward the end of the game, certainly not a good sign in terms of his chances of making the 53.
— At safety, it certainly was interesting to see Elijah Campbell tying Jordan Colbert and Patrick McMorris for most snaps with 24 because Campbell seemed to be a lock for the 53-man roster but maybe isn’t after all.
— With rookie fifth-round pick Jason Marshall Jr., it wasn’t so much his number of snaps (17) that mattered but rather the fact he again was the first nickel corner on the field.
— Lastly, among the defensive linemen, it was rookie seventh-round pick Zeek Biggers who got the most snaps with 24, followed by Alex Huntley with 22 and Matt Dickerson with 20, again pretty good balance and not much of a tip-off in the potential battle between Biggers and Dickerson for the final spot on the D-line on the 53.
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