QB Brock Osweiler to make a free-agent visit to Dolphins.
The Miami Dolphins are shopping around for a veteran quarterback to serve as Ryan Tannehill’s backup, and it appears coach Adam Gase has interest in reuniting with one of the quarterbacks he coached in Denver.
Brock Osweiler, an unrestricted free agent who has started 25 games for the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans the past three seasons, will reportedly visit the Dolphins this weekend, according to Sirius XM.
Osweiler signed a mega deal with the Houston Texans in 2016, but was traded to the Cleveland Browns last offseason before being released and returning to Denver before the 2017 season. He spent his first three seasons playing in Gase’s offense in Denver.
Osweiler served as Peyton Manning’s backup until an injury forced him to start seven games in 2015. He completed 61.8 percent of his passes, throwing for 1,967 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. His 86.4 passer rating and 5-3 record as a starter motivated the Texans to hand him a four-year, $72 million contract.
Osweiler, however, had a disappointing season as Houston’s starter, completing 59 percent of his passes for 2,957 yards with 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
Houston traded Osweiler and a second-round pick to Cleveland to clear $16 million in cap space, acknowledging the franchise made a mistake signing Osweiler. The Browns released him before the 2017 regular season and he quickly returned to Denver, where he started four of the six games he played in, completing 55.8 percent of his passes for 1,088 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions. Osweiler’s 72.5 passer rating last season was well below his career passing rating of 76.5, which explains why Denver signed Case Keenum and doesn’t intend to re-sign Osweiler. The benefit of Miami signing this six-year veteran is he’s already familiar with Gase’s offense, and is still young enough (27) to be viewed as a developmental quarterback.
The Dolphins are shopping for a veteran quarterback to serve as Tannehill’s backup because the team doesn’t intend on re-signing Matt Moore, who has been with the Dolphins since 2011.
Moore, who threw for 861 yards last season, throwing four touchdowns and five interceptions in four games, is an unrestricted free agent.
The Dolphins re-signed journeyman David Fales and have Brandon Doughty, a 2016 seventh-round draft pick who has spent the past two seasons on Miami’s practice squad, on the roster. But the Dolphins would like a more proven quarterback behind Tannehill, who missed all of last season after having his left knee surgically repaired.
The Dolphins are interested in selecting a quarterback early in the draft, but the odds of them landing one of the top four prospects with the No. 11 pick are slim, especially if the Buffalo Bills trade up from the No. 12 spot, which is expected.
Signing Osweiler would give Miami a veteran who is still young enough to be developed. But it’s unlikely that Miami will be paying top dollar for the former Arizona State standout, who was drafted in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft.
The Dolphins selected Tannehill eighth overall in the same draft, and Miami’s coaches are hoping the 2018 season will be the year Tannehill proves he should be viewed as a franchise quarterback.
Tannehill has a 37-40 record as an NFL starter, and has never played in a postseason game. But Gase claims he’s Miami’s unquestioned starter in 2018, and the Dolphins recently backed up the franchise’s commitment to the former Texas A&M standout by converting $16.685 million of his $18 million salary in 2018 to a signing bonus, which cleared $11.1 million in cap space.
According to Gase, Tannehill should be healthy enough to participate in the offseason program when it begins this spring.