Keeping 3 QBs all part of the plan
Dolphins grab Ex-Titans QB Falk off waiver wire
DAVIE — The Miami Dolphins could be running out of chairs in the team’s quarterback meeting room following this weekend’s transactions.
Not only did the Dolphins keep Brock Osweiler and David Fales to serve as Ryan Tannehill’s backups, but Miami claimed Luke Falk off the waiver wire on Sunday, adding the Tennessee Titans 2018 sixthround pick to that position group.
Adam Gase pointed out that for months he dropped numerous hints that the Dolphins could be keeping three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.
And don’t expect that to change anytime soon because the Dolphins’ head coach, who has a reputation as a quarterback developer in the NFL, said he plans to keep three quarterbacks for the entire season.
“At the end of the day, you talk about that being one of the most important positions in professional football,” said Gase, whose team has carried three quarterbacks on his 53-man roster for the previous two seasons, but that had previously been a byproduct of injuries. “Our thought process is we’re going to try to develop guys and get them ready to go, and if we have a situation where we need the next guy to get up we want to make sure we have the right guy.”
The strategic move to keep more than two quarterbacks contrasts the trend of what most NFL teams have been doing for the past couple of seasons. But considering
5:30* European PGA, Omega European Masters, first round
9:30* European PGA, Omega European Masters, first round AUTO RACING: Defending Formula One champ Lewis Hamilton claimed a fifth victory in seven years at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. The Mercedes driver extended his season points lead to 30 points . ... Takuma Sato earned his third career IndyCar victory, benefiting from cautions to win at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Ore. Four-time series champ Scott Dixon finished fifth to extend his season points lead to 29 points with one race remaining.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: In a news conference Saturday night after No. 1 Alabama’s 51-14 win over Louisville, coach Nick Saban said he will continue to play both Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts at QB.
GOLF: Abraham Ancer fired a third-round 6-under 65 to grab the lead at the Dell Technologies Championship in Norton, Mass. Ancer moved to 13-under 200, one better than Bryson DeChambeau (63), who won last week’s opening FedEx Cup playoff event, and Tyrrell Hatton (69). Tiger Woods (68) was six back . ... Marina Alex shot a final-round 7-under 65 to claim a fourstroke victory at the Portland Classic in Portland, Ore. It was Alex’s first career title since joining the LPGA Tour in 2013 . ... Scott McCarron made a hole-in-one on the par-3 14th and closed with a birdie to successfully defend his title at the PGA Tour Champions event in Calgary, Alberta. McCarron edged three others by a stroke for his seventh victory on the senior tour . ... England’s Matt Wallace emerged from a four-man playoff to win the European Tour event in Aarhus, Denmark. It was Wallace’s third victory in his last 15 tournaments. Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen claimed the final automatic spot on the European Ryder Cup team. NFL: Eagles QB Carson Wentz still hasn’t been cleared for contact ahead of the defending Super Bowl champions’ opener Thursday night against the Falcons. Wentz tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee just under ninth months ago. Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles reportedly will start against the Falcons . ... The Chargers signed TE Antonio Gates to a one-year deal. The 38-year-old eight-time Pro Bowler became a free agent in March and was informed the team wouldn’t re-sign him. But the Chargers lost starter Hunter Henry to a season-ending knee injury in May . ... The Broncos waived former first-round pick Paxton Lynch after claiming QB Kevin Hogan off waivers. Lynch, whom the Broncos traded up to select 26th overall in the 2016 draft, slid from No. 2 to No. 3 on the depth chart during the preseason . ... The Panthers placed LT Matt Kalil on IR with the hope he can return from recent arthroscopic knee surgery after eight games.
WNBA: Brittney Griner had 29 points and 12 rebounds and scored with 14.1 seconds left as the Mercury rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the visiting Storm 86-84 and force a decisive Game 5 in the semifinal series. In the other semifinal, Elena Delle Donne had 15 points and 10 rebounds to help the host Mystics force Game 5 with a 97-76 win over the Dream.
ALSO: Golden Knights D Nate Schmidt was banned 20 games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy . ... Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez each scored twice to lead host Barcelona to an 8-2 rout of promoted Huesca. The defending La Liga champ improved to 3-0. how many injuries Miami has had to endure at that position during Gase’s tenure — Tannehill has missed the past 20 regular-season games because of a knee injury, and Jay Cutler and Matt Moore both missed games last season because of injuries — the approach does make sense.
Osweiler and Fales are both 27, so there’s still room for growth and development. And what Gase likes is that both quarterbacks intimately know his offense from their time with him playing for other franchises.
Osweiler has started 25 games during his career, which began in Denver as Peyton Manning’s backup. Fales bounced around the NFL for a couple of seasons before finding a home in Miami last October.
Gase wasn’t ready to say which quarterback would serve as Tannehill’s primary backup, being active on game-day in the Sept. 9 season-opener against the Tennessee Titans. He classified that as an “either-or” situation at this time.
As for Falk, he led Washington State to a 28-15 record, completing 68.3 percent of his passes in a spread offense. He passed for 14,481 yards and threw 119 touchdowns during his collegiate career.
The rookie is coming from Miami’s week one opponent, so Falk should have intimate knowledge about the Titans offense, which should help the Dolphins prepare for Sunday’s game.
The Titans didn’t keep Falk on his 53-man roster because they have Marcus Mariota as the team’s starter and veteran Blaine Gabbert as his backup.
How long Miami keeps four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster will probably depend on how Falk performs, and how quickly he learns the offense. It’s possible that the Dolphins could carry Falk on the 53-man roster for the first week or so and eventually move him to its practice squad if he clears waivers.
All three of Tannehill’s backups understand the position they are in, and what they need to do to keep their status with the team, which is perform in practice and to help Tannehill and the Dolphins defense get ready for each week’s opponent.
“If you’re going to play quarterback in the National Football League you need to have confidence in yourself, your teammates, as well as the coaching staff. If you don’t, it’s going to be tough to have success out there,” said Osweiler, who has a 76.5 career passer rating. “I focus on the things I can control. Whoever is the two, whoever is the three, that’s something I can’t control. The only thing I can control is how I come in, and how I prepare for the day.”
— News services