{"id":398583,"date":"2026-09-13T11:26:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T11:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/398583\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T11:26:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T11:26:12","slug":"miami-dolphins-start-new-era-with-opener-vs-raiders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/398583\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami Dolphins start new era with opener vs. Raiders"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIAMI GARDENS \u2014 There will be a lot of firsts when the Miami Dolphins kick off the 2026 season against the Las Vegas Raiders<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s new coach Jeff Hafley\u2019s first game as an NFL head coach.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the debut of new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan\u2019s first roster \u2014 or at least the one he could put together amid nearly $182 million in dead cap undoing the errors of previous GM Chris Grier.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the first start for quarterback Malik Willis<\/a> as \u201cthe guy\u201d for a franchise.<\/p>\n

For up to 12 rookies on the active roster, it\u2019s their professional regular-season debuts.<\/p>\n

A completely new era of Dolphins football begins in earnest in a 4:25 p.m. kickoff at Allegiant Stadium<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For Hafley, who has experience as the head man of a college program, Boston College, he said he anticipates there will be an emotional moment where he\u2019ll reflect on his journey before his NFL head coaching debut.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy guess is it will probably happen during the national anthem, when I finally can take a deep breath,\u201d Hafley said, \u201cbecause leading up to the game will be about the team. \u2026. Probably during the national anthem is usually when I can finally take a deep breath for a few seconds and just reflect on important people that have helped me throughout my life and, usually in that time, I\u2019ll think about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willis has six starts across four seasons as a backup<\/a> with the Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers, but all of those were spot starts as a reserve. Sullivan and Hafley, who were with him in Green Bay the past two seasons, entrusted him with a three-year contract this offseason.<\/p>\n

Willis gets his first true opportunity as a team\u2019s starting quarterback, in a season that will go a long way in determining his future<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust go out there and have as much fun as possible,\u201d a calm and cool Willis<\/a> said before his big day. \u201cI mean, this is an opportunity of a lifetime, bro. Not many people get to play and start football games in the National Football League. I just want to go in there and have some fun and obviously do what I can to make sure that our team is successful and we go out there and execute.\u201d<\/p>\n

The roster is the youngest in the NFL, with an average age of 25 years, 166 days, according to CBS, which also counted just 608 combined starts on the roster, the fewest for a team on the opening week since at least 2000.<\/p>\n

The rookie class is loaded with players expected to make major contributions right away, with several starting.<\/p>\n

Those rookies, led by top pick Kadyn Proctor, who is set to start his NFL career at left guard<\/a> after playing left tackle in college at Alabama, will try to keep their emotions in check.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like they\u2019ll be high,\u201d Proctor said. \u201cFirst NFL game, I know it. But just being where my feet are and, once we get there, we\u2019ll see how it goes. I\u2019ll probably cry a little bit. We\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dolphins Deep Dive: Keys to defeating Raiders, stopping Maxx Crosby | VIDEO<\/a><\/p>\n

Fellow first-round selection and cornerback Chris Johnson has a key role of possibly switching inside and out from covering the slot in nickel packages to lining up on the boundary at times.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in preparation,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI feel like just how prepared I am is going to help me be calm and confident on game day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Second-round pick Jacob Rodriguez, even as a rookie, may have one of the greatest responsibilities<\/a> of any player, wearing the green-dot helmet to receive defensive calls from Hafley and relay them to the defense.<\/p>\n

Third-round selections in wide receivers Caleb Douglas and Chris Bell, the latter of which made a nine-month recovery from a torn ACL<\/a> in college to make his first NFL start, could start and be prime targets for Willis in the passing game. Tight end Will Kacmarek, also selected in the third round, could be a key cog in Miami\u2019s run-blocking scheme.<\/p>\n

Safety Michael Taaffe could start or at least play significant snaps rotating in defensively. Undrafted rookie DJ Herman, who made a switch from linebacker in college<\/a>, is Miami\u2019s only fullback on the roster and figures to play an integral role on special teams.<\/p>\n

They can all lean on veteran leadership<\/a> the Dolphins have amid the youth.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust go play football,\u201d linebacker Jordyn Brooks said. \u201cNerves are going to happen. I still get nervous. I think you just got to go out there and trust your preparation, trust the process. I mean, we\u2019ve been out here working hard, man. So trust everything that we\u2019ve been doing during the week and then go let it fly on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dolphins Deep Dive: Developing player who will make the most impact vs. Raiders? | VIDEO<\/a><\/p>\n

Running back De\u2019Von Achane, who said this past week he has a goal of going for the league\u2019s rushing title<\/a> this season, seconded that.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery game, I get nervous. It\u2019s just being human,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce I go out there and, once I get tackled, then I\u2019m settled in. That\u2019s how I am every game. Once I get tackled one time, then okay, I\u2019m back to knowing I\u2019m ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dolphins offense can lean on Achane and the run game all year to facilitate things for Willis.<\/p>\n

The Raiders start veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins in Week 1, with rookie No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza, a Miami native, set to back him up. Cousins will be without his top target, third-year tight end Brock Bowers, who is recovering from a knee injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to change some things,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cHe\u2019s a dynamic player. We definitely had some things that we were going to have to game plan for him personally. So that\u2019s kind of out the game plan now. But we still got to go out there, play great defense and win on all phases.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Miami offensive line will have to account for standout edge rusher Maxx Crosby, and left tackle Patrick Paul may have poked that bear this past week when he called him a \u201chothead\u201d<\/a> in saying the Dolphins will have to get him off his game, which could include some smack talk.<\/p>\n

After the opener in Las Vegas, the Dolphins will stay out west, practicing in California ahead of their Week 2 game in Santa Clara against the San Francisco 49ers.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0The Dolphins elevated veteran edge rusher Clelin Ferrell on Saturday from the practice squad to the game-day roster.<\/p>\n

Ferrell, the No. 4 pick of the 2019 draft by the Raiders, is back healthy after missing a majority of training camp and ending up on practice squad to start the season. He can help Miami\u2019s edge-rushing group of Chop Robinson, Josh Uche, Robert Beal Jr. and Malik Herring.<\/p>\n

Dolphins Deep Dive: Can Achane, Willis lead Miami to a win Sunday? | VIDEO<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI GARDENS \u2014 There will be a lot of firsts when the Miami Dolphins kick off the 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[10775,123,1763,125,124],"class_list":["post-398583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-las-vegas-raiders","tag-miami","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}