Miami Dolphins at Tampa Bay Bucs preseason game inactives Tua Tagovailoa

TAMPA – The Miami Dolphins‘ final preseason game of the season is Friday night at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium.

The Bucs are going to use more starters than the Dolphins early in the game.

And many of Miami’s top players won’t play at all.

This week, coach Mike McDaniel said Mike White and Skylar Thompson, who are competing for the backup spot to Tua Tagovailoa, will both play Friday night.

Tua will not.

Tua said after the last preseason game he feels ready for the season, which opens Sunday, Sept. 8, at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium.

Based on preseason warmups, here are some players we do not expect to see tonight:

QB Tua Tagovailoa, RB Raheem Mostert, RB De’Von Achane, RB Chris Brooks, FB Alec Ingold, WR Tyreek Hill, WR Jaylen Waddle, WR Erik Ezukanma (boot), WR River Cracraft, WR Braylon Sanders, LT Terron Armstead, C Aaron Brewer, LG/C Liam Eichenberg, RT Austin Jackson, TE Jonnu Smith, TE Julian Hill, TE Durham Smythe, TE Tanner Conner

DE Emmanuel Ogbah, DT Da’Shawn Hand, DT Zach Sieler, DE Calais Campbell, DT Benito Jones, LB Jordyn Brooks, LB Jaelan Phillips, LB David Long, LB Anthony Walker, LB Jordyn Brooks, LB Duke Riley, CB Jalen Ramsey, CB Kendall Fuller, CB Kader Kohou, CB Cam Smith, S Jevon Holland, S Jordan Poyer, S Marcus Maye, S Patrick McMorris (boot)

Some players who are expected to play: QB Mike White, QB Skylar Thompson, RB Jaylen Wright, RB Jeff Wilson, WR Braxton Berrios, LT Patrick Paul, LG Robert Jones, RG Lester Cotton, C/G Jack Driscoll, CB Ethan Bonner, S Elijah Campbell.

Eriz Ezukanma injury, Patrick McMorris injury

WR Erik Ezukanma is in a walking boot. This could obviously impact his ability to make the opening 53-man roster.

S Patrick McMorris is in a walking boot. This could also impact his ability to make the initial 53-man roster.

Jon Embree to serve as Dolphins head coach

One cool thing we’ll see tonight: Tight ends coach and assistant head coach Jon Embree will serve as head coach in the second half. Coach Mike McDaniel will still call offensive plays. But it’s a good chance for Embree to get into a flow on timeouts and challenges in case anything unexpected, such as COVID, were to sideline McDaniel in a game.

CBS’ Mike Cugno shared that news earlier today.

Dolphins preseason schedule 2024

Atlanta Falcons at Miami Dolphins (20-13 Dolphins)

Washington Commanders at Miami Dolphins, Saturday, August, 17 (13-6 Dolphins)

Miami Dolphins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Friday August 23, 7:30 p.m.

Where can I get Dolphins tickets?

Single-game tickets for the Miami Dolphins can be found at this site.

What is the Dolphins’ 53-man roster?

The Dolphins will cut to 53 players before Tuesday at 4 p.m. Here is Joe Schad’s latest 53-man projection. He’ll have another one after this final preseason game.

Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe’s free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.