The Dolphins are back in action Sunday against the Saints. A successful trip to Madrid preceded a much-earned bye week as the team gears up for the final six games of the 2025 regular season. The Saints are in town Sunday, their first trip to Hard Rock Stadium since 2009.
This is also the Dolphins' designated game for My Cause, My Cleats, a player-led initiative where players, coaches and staff wear custom-designed cleats to spotlight the causes and nonprofits they care about most.
Rested, rejuvenated
The Dolphins have a handful of players eligible to come back from injured reserve this week. Head Coach Mike McDaniel provided an update:
Mike McDaniel – "Darren's (Waller) window will open, and we'll integrate him back into things. Jason Sanders, he's doing a great job getting healthier and we're getting close to that moment but not quite there."
On Austin Jackson's progress, who had his window opened two weeks ago: "More opportunities for him to integrate back into the offense and I'm very excited as he is for the uptick and feel very confident about where he'll be at through the week as long as there's no setbacks, so we'll progress with aggressive temperance."
Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver - "The thing I always tell the guys, whether it's that period of time before the season or the bye week, it's time away and not time off. The first thing is obviously you need to get some rest and recharge a little bit just to make sure your body can heal, but you also want to make sure you stay in shape and then figure out if there is any facet of your game that you can improve upon. That could be mental, that could be physically, that could be in how you take care of your body with prehab and rehab and all of those things, but you just want to make sure you invest that time and not just go sit on the couch and play Call of Duty for six days."
Saints Prep
McDaniel on Saints All-Pro LB Demario Davis – "I've got a professional scar playing against him. He's my generation really, top five of my favorite defensive players. This is a war daddy that in 2020 really had us go back to kind of the workshop to figure out some protections that he presented issues on and he does so with just relentless, physical approach. He's a dawg. Needless to say, I very much took the appropriate time preparing our players for his style of play. Very much appreciate his whole career and what he's doing this year and every year I've ever seen him play. Shoot, him and Cam Jordan are unicorns in this league. They make us all feel old with elite athletic production for decades on decades."
Weaver on Saints WR Chris Olave - "Oh man, he is a stud. He can do everything. He can run every route, he can play the slot, he can play outside, he can get in and out of his breaks. I did a lot of study on him obviously in the offseason, just going through that interview process, but he is absolutely their go to guy as a receiver."
My Cause, My Cleats
On Sunday, Dolphins players will wear special cleats designed to represent a non-profit organization as part of the NFL's My Cause, My Cleats initiative. The players spoke about their causes and the cleats they will wear.
Offensive Tackle Patrick Paul for 'Movember' - "I really think mental health is really big. Especially in today's age, it's hard for men to talk about their feelings and how they're just doing in general. I think it's something that's always been a big thing is like, OK, you're a man, get over it. That's it, you don't have no feelings. So mine is really just bringing more awareness to that and just men's mental health, I think is really important."
Defensive Tackle Zach Sieler for 'Sieler Safe Haven Foundation' – "It's actually for my foundation that my wife and I started about four years ago, which is getting kids outdoors and helping show just what the outdoors can be and hopefully spark a passion with youth in the local Miami area. Her and I are both from Michigan and Missouri, so just show the importance of getting outside and exploring. I think sometimes we get so stuck inside and stuck on our phones or whatever that I think it really takes us back to reality, and that's one of our big passions."
For more on Dolphins-Saints, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.
