DAVIE — Monday night's home game against Jacksonville won't be just another exhibition contest for Dolphins defensive tackle Tony McDaniel.
McDaniel, who was traded by Jacksonville to Miami in March for a seventh-round draft pick, is eager to show his old team that it made a mistake.
"I definitely want to make them wish they still had me," he said Thursday. "I'm very excited for this game."
McDaniel, who played at the University of Tennessee, made the Jaguars' roster as an undrafted free agent in 2006. When Marcus Stroud left as a free agent after the 2007 season, McDaniel was told that he would be a big part of the Jags' future. He even signed a two-year extension in March 2008 that will pay him $1 million this season and $1.855 million in 2010.
"I was thinking I was about to be the man," he said. "Then I got a phone call saying I was being traded to the Dolphins. They said it would be a better fit for me here in Miami."
McDaniel, 24, has gotten some reps with the first team but admitted he has struggled at times to adjust from the Jags' 4-3 defense to the Dolphins' 3-4 alignment.
"It's my first time playing a 3-4 and there's a lot of technique involved," said McDaniel, who is 6-foot-7 and 305 pounds. "I'm kind of getting a feel for it."
