Jeff Hafley will have rookie receiver Caleb Douglas and running back Jaylen Wright back when the Miami Dolphins take their 0-5 record to MetLife Stadium on Sunday. The coach confirmed both on Friday, the last full practice day before Miami’s first division game of the season against the New York Jets.
The returns give an offense that has leaned almost entirely on its ground game a second big target on the outside. Douglas had been sidelined by an ankle injury after appearing in roughly two games. Hafley said the rookie had worked through individual drills and full team periods all week and had “made a bunch of plays” in practice, adding that having him back gave the whole roster a lift.
Not everyone is coming back. Hafley said he did not expect Rob Beal to play, and he held off on a decision about Kyle Louis until he had watched him finish the week. Linebacker Willie Gay missed Thursday’s session with an illness but was back in the building on Friday and expected to practice.
Coach Hafley is live at the podium
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) October 23, 2026
A coach who says he has seen this before
The most personal moment of the session came when Hafley was asked about his own high school career, when his team lost all nine games in his junior year and then finished 7-2 and won its division a year later. He said he remembers every one of those defeats, and the work it took to turn them around.
He drew a firm line between disappointment and discouragement. Losing, he said, bothers him more than anyone, but the start has not changed how he sees the season. “I don’t flinch,” Hafley said, describing how he has handled bad stretches throughout his career and what he wants from the people around him.
He also rejected the idea that the bye week handed Miami two full weeks of preparation for New York. Rest rules limit how much a team can practice during an off week, he pointed out, so the time is mostly about getting bodies and minds right. His standard instead is weekly progress, and he said the Dolphins have to play better on Sunday than they did in their last outing, a 31-24 home loss to Cincinnati on October 11.
The run game and the Slowik family subplot
That Bengals game showed both sides of Miami’s offense. The Dolphins ran for 217 yards, while Malik Willis completed 15 of 27 passes for 114 yards with two interceptions, though he scored the final touchdown on a 1-yard run. Hafley praised an offensive line he called physical and close, saying its confidence is growing and that a strong run game should open up the passing attack.
Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik took the passing problems on himself on Thursday, saying not all 11 players are seeing the game the same way yet and that the unit needs to string together more completions. He and Hafley both said they met with Willis over the bye; Hafley meets with his quarterback every week to talk through defense, football and life.
Sunday also carries a family angle. Slowik will call plays against a staff that includes his older brother, Ryan, and Jets defensive coordinator Brian Duker, who worked for Hafley as a quality control coach in Cleveland and spent last season in Miami. Hafley expects the personal stakes to fade once the headsets go on.
Protection is the bigger worry. Hafley called Jets rookie David Bailey an elite pass rusher who has also improved against the run, and said keeping him off Willis will take the line, the backs, the receivers and the timing of the throws together. Miami is preparing as if Breece Hall plays for New York.
What comes next
The Dolphins visit the Jets at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, October 25. Follow the game in the Game Center. Miami then hosts the New England Patriots on Sunday, November 1. More on the club is on the Dolphins team page.
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