Dolphins Kicking Off Offseason Program

Amid a lot of turmoil involving their two best players, the Miami Dolphins are kicking off their offseason program Monday.

The Dolphins are among 17 teams starting Phase One of the offseason program Monday, the earliest date permitted for teams with returning head coaches.

That's obviously the case with Mike McDaniel, who is heading into his fourth season leading the Dolphins but doing so under his most trying circumstances yet.

After the statement from Stephen Ross after the 2024 season saying the status quo would be unacceptable, the Dolphins have had to deal with Tyreek Hill and his neverending drama and most recently agree to look for a trade for Jalen Ramsey.

With that backdrop, the Dolphins once again will be conducting a limited number of Organized Team Activities (OTAs).

The Dolphins offseason program will go from Monday until it concludes with the three-day mandatory minicamp June 10-12.

The Dolphins OTAs will take place May 27, 29 and 30 and June 2, 3 and 5. Teams are allowed up to 10 OTAs every spring, but this will be the second consecutive year the Dolphins do only six of them.

The Dolphins are one of 14 teams that will have six OTAs, and the Washington Commanders will have a league-low five in Dan Quinn's second offseason as head coach. By contrast, seven teams will use the full 10-OTA allotment — the Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants and New York Jets.

All of the offseason program — except for the mandatory minicamp — is voluntary, which means players don’t have to participate. However, all are incentivized to do so with weekly paychecks, and many have workout bonuses in their contracts that compensate them from $25,000 up to the $250,000 that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will earn.

The NFL Draft is April 24-26 and the Dolphins will bring their selections and undrafted signees in for rookie minicamp, which will take place on the first or second weekend after the draft. The Dolphins have used the later date under McDaniel, which would mean a rookie minicamp on the weekend of May 9-11.

THE OFFSEASON PROGRAM RULES

Under the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, the offseason workout program is divided into three phases.

Phase one lasts two weeks and is limited to strength and conditioning and physical rehabilitation work.

The second phase includes on-field workouts and takes place over a three-week span. There is no live contact or team offense vs. team defense drills permitted during the phase two practices.

The longest phase is the third one, which allows the team to participate in 7-on-7, 9-on-9 and 11-on-11 drills, though there is still no contact allowed.

Phase three includes the mandatory minicamp. Teams with first-year coaches also can hold a three-day voluntary minicamp for veterans before the draft.

No part of the Dolphins offseason program is open to the public.

Fans will have to wait until training camp arrives in late July to see the new-look Dolphins.

THE DOLPHINS OFFSEASON PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Monday, April 21 — Start of offseason program

Tuesday, May 27 — OTA

Thursday, May 29 – OTA

Friday, May 30 — OTA

Monday, June 2 — OTA

Tuesday, June 3 — OTA

Thursday, June 5 — OTA

Tuesday, June 10 — Mandatory minicamp

Wednesday, June 11 — Mandatory minicamp

Thursday, June 12 — Mandatory minicamp

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