The NFL preseason game is a dying species. Starters are playing fewer snaps than ever in the exhibitions as joint practices — like Wednesday’s session between the Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders in Ashburn, Virginia — take over.
This year’s training camps feature 23 total joint practices, with 28 of the league’s 32 teams opting in. The NFL saw similar participation rates in each of the last five seasons since league officials dropped the fourth and final preseason game in exchange for an 18th regular-season game in 2021.
The appeal for coaches is simple. They get more control in the highly regimented practice environment.
Quarterbacks don’t have to worry about getting hit. Injury risks across other positions are also dampened when players are removed from stadiums and plopped onto less intense practice fields.
“We try to feature and get a little bit of everything,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday morning. His wish list included two-minute drills, extended drives and one-on-one work that allows the coaches to spotlight individual players.
The coaches spend the week before their on-field meetings exchanging ideas about how they want the practice to look, which position groups or situations they want to feature more heavily. In a game, a team might not get to experiment with red-zone capabilities or goal-line options. In practice, the hired referees can spot the ball at the one-yard line, regardless of the plays that led up to it.
“In my vision of it, I wanted to get a little bit of everything against competition,” Quinn said.
These practices are especially valuable for young teams like the Dolphins, who brought in a new quarterback and a completely fresh coaching staff during the offseason. New coach Jeff Hafley is still installing Miami’s offensive and defensive playbooks while teaching a largely inexperienced group how to prepare like professionals.
“In a perfect world, in these joint practices, you get your so-called 22 starters 30 to 35 reps and then they don’t play very much [in the preseason opener],” Hafley said. “As you go through our team right now, there aren’t many of those guys. So, we have to gain experience.”
The players don’t mind the added experience either.
“Football is football to me,” Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels said.
After two weeks of padded and unpadded practices against teammates, many of them are just excited to clash with a different face — one they don’t have to share a locker room with.
“It’s awesome. You finally get to hit someone that’s not your own team. So, obviously, it’s a little more juice, a little more excitement,” Commanders linebacker Leo Chenal said. “You bring them in from the South, show them how it’s done a little bit. Hopefully you can learn from it, too.”
But coaches from all teams are united in one hope — to avoid the fights and skirmishes that are commonplace when greeted with opposing teams. It’s a thin line between the “juice” that Chenal referenced and a practice-ending skirmish.
Hafley in particular stressed that goal before his squad took the field on Wednesday.
“We don’t have time for that. We’re here to practice; they’re here to practice,” Miami’s first-year coach said. “At the same time, I want to be physical. That’s how we need to play.”
Hafley got his wish, as both teams escaped their first taste of real competition unscathed by fights or major injuries. The only minor brush-up, which appeared to be led by Commanders tackle Josh Conerly Jr., was quickly squashed by teammates and referees.
The shifted emphasis from preseason exhibitions to practices far from stadiums has drawn a mixed reaction from fans, though. Bill Mason, a longtime season-ticket holder, said the preseason has been “watered down” since the league abandoned the fourth game in 2021.
“The first game was for the rookies. The second you’d have your starters for a quarter. The third game, the starters would have a half,” Mason said, noting that starters often skipped the final matchup.
That general philosophy changed when the preseason grew shorter. Teams became less likely to risk injuries to starters, with most established veterans playing just a handful of drives between the first and second weeks.
“Now, it just, to be honest, feels like a money grab,” Mason said.
Attending a joint practice is a solid consolation for the select few who can secure tickets. Wednesday’s practice between the Dolphins and Commanders was limited to a few thousand season-ticket holders.
The increasingly informed and fanatical NFL die-hards lined up more than three hours before Wednesday’s joint practice began. They were desperate to secure the best viewing angles to draw their own conclusions of practice.
“With these joint practices, you can actually see your team, top-tier competitions like starters playing against our starters and seeing how we compare,” said Charlie Staniszewski, who attended Wednesday’s joint practice alongside Mason.
They were eager to see the Commanders’ new-look systems, led by first-year offensive coordinator David Blough and new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones.
The Commanders have another joint practice later this month. The team will visit the Baltimore Ravens ahead of the preseason finale.
The pair of joint sessions, Quinn said, is a sweet spot in the current NFL calendar.
“In terms of training your skills alone, there’s an advantage,” he said.
The calculus could change in the future. NFL officials are constantly evaluating whether to expand the regular season to 18 games. The third preseason game could become extinct, a loser to the ever-dominant joint practice.
The Commanders and Dolphins open the preseason on Friday night in Landover, Maryland.
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