Three weeks into the season, the Miami Dolphins are not where they envisioned they’d be before the 2024 campaign started.
They’re 1-2 after consecutive losses to the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks. They’re coming off a Week 3 loss to Seattle in which they scored three points. They’ve experienced injures to quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and now backup Skylar Thompson who left Sunday’s 24-3 loss with a rib injury.
As of Tuesday, the Dolphins aren’t any clearer on who will start at quarterback in Week 4 against the Tennessee Titans Monday night.
Head coach Mike McDaniel addressed the quarterback situation at his Tuesday news conference and offered multiple scenarios that he said the team will work through in preparation for the Titans. He described the situation as one of “varied uncertainty.”
If healthy, Thompson’s the top option against Tennessee, but that’s not clear two days after his injury. McDaniel said that the team would evaluate Thompson’s condition over the next 48 hours.
“I would say that Skylar’s more day to day,” McDaniel said.
If Thompson can’t go, that leaves the Dolphins down to third-string quarterback Tim Boyle and Tyler Huntley, whom the Dolphins signed last Monday off the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad after Tagovailoa’s injury.
Boyle finished Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks following Thompson’s injury. He completed 7 of 13 passes for 79 yards (6.1 yards per attempt) without a touchdown or turnover after Thompson’s injury early in the third quarter. He took one sack, and the Dolphins did not score while he was in the game.
Thompson didn’t fare much better before his injury. He completed 13 of 19 passes for 107 yards without a touchdown or turnover. He took five sacks for a loss of 37 yards and led the Dolphins offense to a single field goal.
McDaniel said on Tuesday that he opted to play Boyle over Thompson on Sunday in part because Huntley was new to the team and the offense.
“It was going to be difficult this past week for a guy getting there on Tuesday to feel comfortable leading the offense,” McDaniel said. … “Tim was the better option for that moment on that day.”
McDaniel said that starting Huntley against the Titans is “a possibility for sure.” That decision will come down to an evaluation of multiple variables, including Thompson’s health and how Boyle and Huntley perform in practice.
“You’re probably gonna have to make a decision before you’d like to just give the players a chance to adequately perform on Sunday,” McDaniel said.
If Huntley ultimately earns the job, the Dolphins will need to incorporate adjustments to their offense.
“It’s a fine balance that’s not an exact science,” McDaniel continued. … “If we go that direction, we’d probably introduce a couple things.”
As for Tagovailoa, there’s no precise timeframe for his return after he suffered another concussion in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills. Tagovailoa’s suffered multiple head injuries since joining the Dolphins, with his latest prompting renewed calls that he should consider retiring to protect the health of his brain.
Tagovailoa reportedly has no intention of retiring, but his return to the Dolphins lineup is not imminent. He’s on injured reserve and will miss at a minimum the next three Dolphins games.
“He’s meeting with neurologists this week,” McDaniel said of Tagovailoa. “The plan hasn’t changed, and it’s being executed.”
