Season provided a valuable QB lesson
Entering last season the Dolphins appeared to have one of the best backup quarterback situations in the NFL with veteran Teddy Bridgewater listed behind promising young starter Tua Tagovailoa.
Neither stayed healthy.
The result was rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson, a seventhround pick, starting the wild-card playoff round game against the Buffalo Bills.
The Dolphins must avoid such a situation from repeating in 2023, and that requires two steps. The first, which the Dolphins are taking, is working to keep Tagovailoa healthy, and right now that involves teaching him how to fall properly without banging the back of his head on the ground and incurring another concussion.
The second is getting a reliable backup quarterback.
Free agency might be the best option.
The two-day contact period for teams to talk to free agents begins at noon on March 13.
Teams can sign free agents beginning at 4 p.m. on March 15, when the new league year begins.
It’s unclear whether the Dolphins think Thompson is a reliable No. 2, but they likely want someone with more experience. Options are plentiful and varied. Bridgewater, the hometown kid from Miami Northwestern High, is a free agent. It’s not known what his chances are to return. Bridgewater started two games last season and played in five games. He finished 49 of 79 for 683 yards, four touchdowns, four interceptions and an 85.6 passer rating.
The most disappointing aspect about Bridgewater wasn’t related to his performance, but rather the injury issues concerning a knee and finger (not counting the questionable concussion against the New York Jets) that kept him out of key late-season games, including the wild-card loss at Buffalo.
Among other quarterbacks on the market, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has familiarity with San
Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo as they were together with the 49ers from 2017-21, but Garoppolo will likely look for a starting job.
Perhaps someone such as Baker Mayfield of the Los Angeles Rams fits the bill as the Dolphins’ backup.
Or perhaps Dallas’ Cooper Rush is a good candidate. But Rush could be tempted to follow former Dallas offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Jets quarterback Mike White, who played high school ball at University School, might be interested in a homecoming.
The Dolphins have stated Tagovailoa is their starter for 2023, so a free agent such as Derek Carr, recently released by Las Vegas, isn’t an option at this point.
One thing we know about the Dolphins’ next backup quarterback is he must be capable of guiding a team with Super Bowl ambitions.
It bears repeating the Dolphins seem to be in “win-now” mode among major acquisitions such as wide receiver Tyreek Hill ($120 million), edge rusher Bradley Chubb ($110 million), left tackle Terron Armstead ($75 million) and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who was reportedly made the NFL’s highest-paid assistant coaches at $4.5 million per year.
Tagovailoa is in his fourth season, the final year of his rookie deal. If he comes back for his fifth year in 2024 he’ll likely cost at least $22 million, and that’s on the conservative side, so the Dolphins want to win while he’s still economical.
Beyond that, in the next few years talented young players such as wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, safeties Jevon Holland and Brandon Jones, and guard Robert Hunt, to name a few, will be eligible for major raises meaning it’ll be tough to keep the current core together.
So the backup quarterback walks into a relatively pressure-filled situation.
The draft doesn’t seem to be a viable option for the Dolphins to find a backup quarterback considering they have Thompson.
As a reminder, the Dolphins lost their first-round pick due to tampering. Their first three picks in the draft are one selection in the second round and a pair of selections in the third round.
Considering the Dolphins have more pressing needs such as running back, offensive tackle, cornerback and linebacker, it seems unlikely they’d select a backup quarterback with one of their first three picks. Selecting a backup quarterback any lower than the third round isn’t likely to be fruitful, and you could argue they’d be better served sticking with Thompson, who at least has one year of experience.
One factor working in the Dolphins’ favor is quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell, who has said he has head coach aspirations, reportedly turned down a couple of offensive coordinator interviews with the Jets and Washington to stay with Miami. Bevell is highly-regarded in coaching circles.
In NFL jargon, the starting quarterback is sometimes referred to as QB1.
Considering Tagovailoa’s concussion history, and the Dolphins’ situation, meaning they’re hoping to be Super Bowlready, they might consider their backup quarterback QB1a and opposed to QB2.
The Dolphins, in the spirit of planning for the worst but hoping for the best, need a backup quarterback who can carry the team for weeks at a time, and possibly do it more than once in a season.
Free agent QBs
A quick look at some of the free agent quarterbacks that could interest the Dolphins:
Teddy Bridgewater, Dolphins:
Bridgewater, 30, couldn’t stay healthy last season and that was his undoing. Otherwise there would be little question he’d be back. His numbers weren’t great between completing 62% of his passes and having four touchdowns and four interceptions, but keep in mind he only lasted one play against the Jets (not his fault) and had the Dolphins in position to possibly beat Minnesota until Waddle lost a fumble at the 14-yard line, but the injury issues could be the deciding factor.
Mike White, NY Jets: White, 27, was 1-3 as a starter last season and ended the year 103 of 175 for 1,192 yards, three touchdowns, four interceptions and 75.7 passer rating. He showed great toughness last season while playing with a late-season rib injury that caused him to miss two games. White sparked the Jets offense by passing for more than 315 yards in each of his first two starts.
Baker Mayfield, Los Angeles Rams:
Mayfield, 27, struggled as a starter in Carolina and requested his release, which was granted, after being traded to the Panthers by Cleveland. He showed early spark with the Rams but became inconsistent and ended the season 201 of 335 for 2,163 yards, 10 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 79.0 passer rating. Mayfield said he’s good enough to be a starting quarterback after the Rams’ season-ending loss to Seattle.
Cooper Rush, Dallas:
Rush, 29, was 4-1 as a starter last season and ended 94 of 162 for 1,051 yards, five touchdowns, three interceptions and an 80.0 passer rating. The Cowboys have lots of other free agent priorities, and owner Jerry Jones said he’ll likely draft a quarterback so expect Rush to need a new home. It’s been speculated Rush might follow Moore, the former Dallas offensive coordinator, to the Chargers.
Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco:
This is a longshot, and unlikely, but you never know what can happen and there’s a history between Garoppolo and McDaniel. Garoppolo, 31, sustained a season-ending injury against the Dolphins and ended the year 207 of 308 for 2,437 yards, 16 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 103 passer rating. One reason this is a longshot is because Garoppolo wouldn’t come to the Dolphins as a backup, and among his starting suitors could be Tampa Bay, Las Vegas, the Jets, New Orleans, Carolina, and Washington.