What Do THE Miami DOLPHINS DO AT QB?
By Andy Davies
The Miami Dolphins lost to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football. They were not just defeated, they were humiliated, losing 31-10 at home.
However, the performance was not even the talk of the game, with Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffering another concussion.
After being just one of a very few that played every game in 2023, it was felt that he had overcome these concussion and durability concerns after a difficult 2022.
Tua struggled all game and when he came off the field, he had 145 yards passing as well as one touchdown and three interceptions. Whilst you could make an argument that two of those picks were not on him, he struggled immensely throughout.
With the clock at 4:35 in the third quarter, Tua scrambled and collided with Damar Hamlin and did not return to the game. Questions have now led to people wondering whether he will ever return to the field. With four concussions across three seasons, many feel that he should retire for the sake of his own health. This decision may even be out of his hands.
Whether Tua retires or not, the Dolphins will need to decide on who starts under centre for now. Thankfully for Miami, due to Thursday Night Football, they will have a longer week than normal to prepare for their next game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week Three.
So who should the Dolphins start at QB1? Here are three options.
Ryan Tannehill
This one makes the most sense, as Tannehill is a former first overall pick for the Dolphins.
During his time with the franchise, he threw for 20,434 yards, 123 touchdown passes and 75 interceptions. Only Dan Marino and Bob Griese have thrown for more yards and touchdowns than Ryan Tannehill.
He may be of a certain age, but with weapons like Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to throw to along with Odell Beckham Jr later on in the season, the prospect of playing for a team in “win now” mode will intrigue Tannehill to returning to his old team.
He may have been away for a few years, but he knows the franchise well and what the fanbase and front office expects.
Jimmy Garoppolo
This may be the route that the Dolphins go down, due to the fact that Jimmy Garoppolo and head coach Mike McDaniel have already worked together whilst in San Francisco.
Jimmy G may have been a limited QB, he had moderate success whilst under centre for the 49ers, taking them to a Super Bowl appearance coincidentally in Miami.
The offensive line issues may be the factor that thwarts Garoppolo should he come to the Dolphins, but he will have weapons of similar ilk to those he had in Santa Clara.
Going from throwing to Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle in San Francisco, Davante Adams with the Las Vegas Raiders and in practice to Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua with his current team in the Los Angeles Rams, to the current receiving core in Miami, this may help Garoppolo settle straight in.
Stick with Skylar Thompson
The Dolphins may end up sticking with their backup Skylar Thomson. McDaniel spoke on this. He said: “The best way to articulate where we’re at is that the team and the organization are very confident in Skylar. There was a reason he was our backup quarterback.
“That being said, we’ll bring in someone. We’re just evaluating the pros and cons for the different situations and getting through all those possibilities to do what’s the best thing for the team. As it stands today I’m expecting that Skylar is the next man up.”
Skylar Thompson did not have a great cameo when he came on the field to replace Tua on Thursday Night. He went 8 from 14 and threw for 80 yards with no pick or touchdowns. However, we have seen worse backup QB performances.
Thompson may have his limitations but he has yet to be given a real opportunity to start. The one time he got that chance, he did a lot better than expected. In a 34-31 Wildcard Round defeat to the Buffalo Bills in January 2023, he recorded 220 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions as they almost earned the upset win.
Thompson is a boom or bust selection as the QB1 but you just do not know until you give him regular gametime as the starter.
Feature Image Credit: CNN
ANDY DAVIES
NFL ANALYST
ANDY IS A SPORTS JOURNALISM GRADUATE WITH OVER FOUR YEARS EXPERIENCE OF NFL WRITING AND PODCASTING. ANDY HAS BEEN TO EVERY NFL STADIUM AND IS THE HOST OF THE ACROSS THE POD PODCAST AND HAS PRESS PASS EXPERIENCE AT THE LONDON GAMES AND MANY OTHER NFL BASED EVENTS, HAVING INTERVIEWED THE LIKES OF JASON BELL, OSI UMENYIORA, DOUG PEDERSON, DERRICK HENRY, TREVOR LAWRENCE AND MIKE VRABE.