No international games for Dolphins. Interesting comments from Dolphins’ Hafley
The Dolphins will not be playing a ninth game outside of the United States — at least not this year.
The NFL’s full 2026 nine-game lineup of international games, announced Wednesday morning, does not include any Dolphins games. So Miami will play eight home games and nine road games this season.
The home opponents: Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions.
The road opponents: Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers.
Dates and times for all of those games will be announced at 8 p.m. Thursday, with leaks typically coming throughout the day.
The Dolphins played in the NFL’s first international game, in 2007 against the Giants in London. They have played in seven more since, including four more in London, one in Toronto, one in Germany and one in Spain. Miami is 3-5 in those eight games out of the country.
A San Francisco-area publication reported weeks ago that Miami would play San Francisco in Mexico City, but that report was not accurate. Detroit will play the 49ers in that game.
More from Hafley
Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan is enamored with top pick Kadyn Proctor, and other key people in the organization are similarly smitten.
“When we moved back [to pick 12] and got two extra [fifth-round] picks [from Dallas], he was going to be the guy we took at 11,” coach Jeff Hafley said in a wide-ranging interview on former NFL Pro Bowl defensive back Richard Sherman’s podcast.
“With his size and potential and how young he is, he’s a guy we are going to be looking at down the road and say how did this guy get drafted at 12. At a premium position with how young and talented he is, that’s a position people might look back in a few years and say” how did he not go earlier.
The fact that Hafley said “premium position” was telling. Tackle is a premium position and guard is not, which suggests that the Dolphins project him as tackle eventually, even though he will play left guard initially, barring a change of heart by the team. Proctor could move to right tackle in 2027 if the Dolphins don’t retain Austin Jackson after this season.
Sherman asked Hafley to name the player he was surprised was still available to the Dolphins when they picked. He cited former Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who was selected 43rd.
“One guy I didn’t think would be there was Rodriguez,” he said. “I thought he would have been picked sooner. His college tape, the upside, the potential, the leadership, the playmaking ability, the production. I thought he would have been gone by that pick.”
Hafley on other issues
Hafley addressed other issues with Sherman:
▪ On new quarterback Malik Willis: As Jordan Love’s backup in Green Bay the past two seasons, “He did a really nice job in some big moments and some big games. [Because Willis was on the scout team], I communicated with him more than I communicated with Jordan. There were weeks I wanted him to stay in the pocket because that’s the quarterback we were going to play. There were weeks I wanted him to scramble.
“He’s competitive, tough, really accurate down the field, really athletic, strong, can make plays with his feet. When he breaks the pocket, he’s really accurate. And I love the person. He’s not this outspoken loud guy, but people gravitate toward him. To get a quarterback like that as we build this thing is huge.”
▪ How much will Hafley rely on analytics in making key decisions?
“I’m going to want to know what the analytics says, but I’m going to go by what I feel is best for our team in the moment, in the game,” he said. “For some guys, just going off the paper and off the numbers is fine. [But] I want to get a feel for the game. That’s kind of how it ended up my last couple of years [as head coach at Boston College].
“Tell me what the analytics say, and let me make a decision based off the flow of the game and how I feel, what the team needs from me in the moment. There’s some moments when you decide not to go for it and your team kind of looks at you sideways, too, and when those guys are telling you to go for it at times, you know they’re going to go for it.
“And there’s others where they’re going to say go for it, and you say, ‘No, you guys chill out. We’re going to punt the ball right here.’”
▪ He said general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and the front office “did a really good job of drafting tough, competitive, smart players and tape shows they’re already good players.”
▪ How does he know if a player loves football and is competitive?
“I can’t figure that out on Zoom and I can’t figure it out when I spend an hour on a 30 visit in my office. The way I figure it out is turn on the tape.. How competitive is the guy?... Does he take the next play off? Is he turning stuff [contact] down? I don’t want that. I want the guys who are going to be competitive on every play.
“How do you know how we know they love football? Look how hard they play. Look at [rookie Texas safety Michael Taaffe’s] production, how hard he plays, how instinctive he is, how productive he is.”
▪ Like all coaches, Hafley said: “I want improvement throughout the year. We’ve got to be playing our best football at the end of the season”
The Dolphins begin full-team voluntary on-field practices on May 18. “I am really fired up to be here and get this thing started,” he told Sherman.
This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 9:22 AM.
