Practice partner
The Dolphins will hold joint practices with the Carolina Panthers.
The Dolphins have been searching for a dance partner to practice with in the exhibition season, and the Carolina Panthers have extended an invite.
The Dolphins and Panthers will hold joint practices Aug. 19-20 at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. The practices will lead up to the teams’ Aug. 22 exhibition game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Both practice sessions will begin at 8:30 a.m., and both are open to the public.
This will be the first time the Dolphins have a practice partner in a decade. They had practiced along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the Dave Wannstedt era.
The Panthers held joint training camp practices at Wofford College with the Detroit Lions in 2000.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for coach [Joe] Philbin, and we’re excited to be working with the Dolphins,” Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said in a statement. “The Dolphins do some things differently on offense, defense and special teams so it will be an opportunity to work on all three phases of the game in controlled situations with really good tempo. Our players will see some different looks, and it will be a couple days of quality practice for us.”
Practicing against an unfamiliar opponent is a valuable opportunity, because by the third week of training camp teams become familiar with their own plays. Holding joint practices gives the coaching staff and front office officials a better evaluation of their schemes, plays and roster.
The Dolphins will open up training camp during the final week of July (an exact day has not been announced), and they play their first exhibition game Aug.13 at the Chicago Bears.
The game in Carolina is the Dolphins’ second exhibition. Then comes the Aug. 29 dress rehearsal against the Atlanta Falcons, which the Dolphins will host at Sun Life Stadium.
The Dolphins wrap up the preseason Sept. 3 by hosting Tampa Bay, before kicking off the regular season on Sept. 13 at the Washington Redskins.