Miami Dolphins will visit Chicago, Carolina and host Falcons, Bucs in preseason

The Dolphins’ preseason schedule is out, and the NFL did team CEO Tom Garfinkel a solid.

The first home exhibition game won’t come until late August, giving the organization two additional weeks to complete Phase 1 of its renovations to Sun Life Stadium.

The Dolphins won’t play at home until the weekend of Aug. 27-30 ‒ which is the absolute latest possible date for a first home preseason game.

Their preseason will begin the weekend of Aug. 13-17 at the Chicago Bears. The next weekend, the Dolphins visit the Carolina Panthers.

Then in Week 3 of the preseason, the Dolphins finally return home ‒ and will debut their reconfigured seating bowl. Sun Life Stadium’s $400 million facelift will occur in two stages, with the new seats installed for the start of this season. By the beginning of the 2016, the entire project is expected to be finished ‒ with a canopy to protect fans from the elements.

The Dolphins will host the Atlanta Falcons in that third weekend. They will close out the preseason against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on either Sept. 3 or 4. Final dates and times for these games will be announced in the future. None will appear on national television.

Expect the NFL to also announce the regular-season schedule by the end of the month. The Dolphins already know one date and location: They return to London on Oct. 4 to face the New York Jets in what the league will consider a Dolphins home game.

This story was originally published April 9, 2015 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Miami Dolphins will visit Chicago, Carolina and host Falcons, Bucs in preseason."