For third-string QB Reid Sinnett, the preseason finale could be his show
MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins third-string quarterback Reid Sinnett went from paying to play college football to getting paid as a professional.
Sinnett was taking out student loans to be a backup at the University of San Diego before breaking out his redshirt senior season, his one season as a college starter.
On Sunday, when the Dolphins play the Bengals in their preseason finale at Cincinnati, it could very well be the Reid Sinnett Show. The second-year quarterback who spent much of 2020 on Miami’s practice squad is expected to get plenty of work. Dolphins coach Brian Flores already said he’s sitting starter Tua Tagovailoa — with backup veteran Jacoby Brissett the team’s only other signal caller.
Sinnett will get his time in the NFL spotlight after — not too long ago — he spent his time after college practice working at clothing store Lululemon while he took one final class his last semester of college.
“I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Sinnett said. “I had to
help pay for some of that stuff. I was joking, ‘Hopefully, I could get a raise and help pay off some of my student loans,’ but it’s amazing that I get paid to come out here every day and go to practice and get to sit in these meetings with some of these guys.
“I think it’s been a great measuring stick for what I got accomplished at USD and, again, there’s so much room for improvement. Seeing all these guys every day, it’s a great chance for me to continue to grow and be a better player.”
Sinnett, who was a practice squad player in 2020 after getting cut from the Buccaneers, spent his first training camp in Tampa. Now with the Dolphins, he has gotten to sit in meetings with Tagovailoa, Brissett, Tom Brady — and even Dolphins legend Dan Marino.
“He pops his head in and asks if he can sit down, and I was like, ‘That’s Dan Marino,’ ” Sinnett recalled earlier this training camp of meeting the Hall of Famer. Marino works as special advisor with the Dolphins. “It’s been really cool to have him in the room and his insights, and then I love hearing him talk about how the game’s changed. He’s a great part of being in our room.”
Now, Sinnett will get his big shot to apply what he’s learned from all those different voices into significant game action, after there was no preseason in 2020.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “Gotten a lot of mental reps and a chance to watch and get coached through Tua and Jacoby. We all play this game to be out on the field. It’s not a position to stand and watch, and it’s always exciting to be out there and be the center of the offense and making sure that we can operate and get the chance to improve our game, which is the best part of playing quarterback.”
His ideal outing on Sunday? He keeps it simple.
“We want to win,” Sinnett said. “If we can move the ball and give ourselves a chance to score some points, that’s all you can ask for as a quarterback. Making sure that our guys are ready to play, and we move the ball down the field.”
Coming in as the third quarterback behind Tagovailoa and Brissett in the first two preseason games, Sinnett was 6 of 10 for 51 yards at the Chicago Bears and 2 of 2 for 7 yards and a touchdown at home against the Atlanta Falcons last Saturday. Kirk Merritt, whom he’s developed a bond with on the third team for the Dolphins, was on the receiving end of his fourth-quarter 2-yard scoring strike. Sinnett said he gave Brissett a hard time for taking Merritt from him when he started working with him on the second team later on, amid various wide receiver injuries.
Sinnett was called up to the Dolphins’ active roster twice in 2020 but never saw game action and was sent right back to practice squad after those games.
In his time in the NFL, he said he has improved his nutrition the most since that lone starting season in college, when Sinnett completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 3,528 yards, 32 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
“I’ve seen it translate to my game,” he said. “I feel a little bit more athletic, and the ball is coming out of my hand a little bit easier.”
With the professional resources he has with the Dolphins, he no longer needs to sacrifice healthy eating, as he might have on the budget of a college kid working at Lululemon to pay off student loans.