The Miami Dolphins 2023 backup quarterbacks currently consist of two NFL-experienced signal-callers and a UDFA. Currently, Tua Tagovailoa is the unequivocal fracnhise quarterback. He is followed by off-season free-agent acquisition, Mike White. Occupying the third spot is 2022 NFL Draft pick, Skylar Thompson. Finally, undrafted free-agent quarterback James Blackman is currently penciled in as the fourth quarterback.
Are the Miami Dolphins 2023 backup quarterbacks ready to lead, should Tagovailoa be injured? A good starting place is the “Flynn-Cassel Effect”.
Miami Dolphins 2023 Backup Quarterback Conundrum
Assessing the “Flynn-Cassel Effect”: Cases of the Importance of a Backup Quarterback
Raise your hand if you have ever heard of Matt Flynn. How About Matt Cassel? This is in no way meant to throw shade at White, Flynn, or Cassel. The point here is, just because a player has a great game or season, it does not make them a competent, long-term quarterback, option.
Matt Flynn
Flynn had one monster game in his career (480 yards, and six touchdowns) for the Green Bay Packers in the final game of the 2011 season. The next year, the Seattle Seahawks signed Flynn to a three-year, $20 million contract. Then, rookie Russell Wilson beat Flynn and Tarvaris Jackson out as the starter. After that, Flynn managed to hang on for another four seasons in the league but did not do anything extraordinary.
Matt Cassel
Similarly, Cassel did an admirable and respectable job during the 2008 season, filling in for Tom Brady and nearly leading the New England Patriots to a playoff berth. Cassel did have a respectable 15-year NFL career, including a Pro Bowl appearance for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010 as an alternate for Tom Brady. Essentially, Cassel had two highly productive seasons as an NFL starter out of a 15-year career.
Projecting the Three Dolphins Backup QBs
1. Skylar Thompson
The Dolphins will likely have three active quarterbacks on their roster. In that likely scenario, it is intuitive that Thompson usurps White as primary backup.
Thompson has endured and overcome a lot of heartache in his personal life. Thompson lost his mom, Teresa, to cervical cancer when he was only six. If there is a player that has the potential to overcome adversity, pressure, and anxiety, it is Thompson.
Some would also argue that, of the three backups, Thompson has the most experience against top defenses. Thompson played at Power-Five Kansas State University (Big 12).
If Tyreek Hill is suspended, Mike McDaniel could utilize Thompson as an effective component of a wildcat formation. The same scenario could also play out if Tagovailoa were to be injured. The wildcat could benefit the speedy Dolphins. Either way, Thompson’s mobility makes him an asset.
The idea of Thompson becoming the Dolphins savior did seem far-fetched, initially. However, Thompson had the opportunity to flex his potential in the 2022 playoffs against the Buffalo Bills. It was a disaster. He went 18 of 45 with one touchdown and two interceptions while taking four sacks.
One of the biggest issues that Thompson had was getting the ball out of his hand quickly and efficiently. If Thompson has not improved, it would be unsurprising to see him relegated to the practice squad and only promoted to the active roster when necessary. This would be in line with the Dolphins’ recent habit of promoting (and demoting) backup quarterbacks.
Thompson was drafted 15 picks before San Francisco 49ers breakout star Brock Purdy in the 2022 NFL Draft. It will be interesting to see if the Dolphins backup has matured and improved since that loss to the Bills.
2. Mike White
White’s biggest NFL accolade so far is being named Offensive Player of the Week in 2021. Against the Cincinnati Bengals, he threw for 405 yards but only threw for one more touchdown (three), than interceptions (two).
White has more career interceptions (12) than touchdowns (eight). He does, however, have over 2,000 yards passing in only eight NFL games. While that is impressive, yards alone do not win games. Touchdowns do.
White will be the third option on the depth chart. What separates Thompson from White is the level of college competition they respectively played against. White played against in college (Non-Power Five Conferences [American Athletic Conference-University of South Florida and Conference USA-Western Kentucky]).
White also has a deficit compared to Thompson when it comes to mobility. However, White will stay on the roster because he has NFL experience and teams like to have an experienced veteran just in case. Indeed, The New York Jets did it with Joe Flacco and Josh McCown. It is for that reason, largely, that White beats out Blackman for a spot on the active roster.
Like White, Gardner Minshew was also available as a free agent this off-season. While he does not have a Player of the Week honor to his credit, he has proven to be a serviceable backup. That led the quarterback-needy Indianapolis Colts to spend on him in free agency.
However, this begs the question of why White and not Minshew in Miami? Minshew has an 11:3 touchdown-to-interception ratio while White’s is 2:3.
Maybe it was a financial thing. Maybe it is that the Dolphins are looking to run the ball more, and Minshew’s pass-happy tendencies were not a good system fit. Either way, Dolphins fans hope that, should anything happen to Tagovailoa, White will not be the latest product of the “Flynn-Cassel effect”. But that remains to be seen.
3. James Blackman (Practice Squad)
Blackman has played against Power-Five competition before as a member of the Florida State Seminoles (FSU). He did eventually transfer to Non-Power Five Arkansas State (ASU [Sun-Belt]).
The upside to Blackman is his ball security. Last season, at Arkansas State, he had 14 touchdowns to just three interceptions. However, his touchdown-to-interception ratio over his college career has been erratic.
Blackman, like his fellow Dolphins quarterbacks, has also missed time due to injury. The reason Blackman winds up on the practice squad and not the active roster, over White, is because of the (psychological or legitimate) need of NFL teams to have a veteran on the active roster. Unless Blackman can somehow sway that mentality, he will be on the practice squad.
Closing Thoughts on the Miami Dolphins 2023 Backup Quarterback Situation
Certain things must be proven by each of the Dolphins quarterbacks.
For Thompson, it is proving he has grown and matured since the playoff loss to the Bills. He must also show why he was chosen 15 picks before Purdy. White has to prove he is not the latest victim of the Flynn-Cassel effect. Blackman, meanwhile, must show more consistency at a high level.
Coming out of training camp, it is likely Thompson supplants White as option number two to Tagovailoa. This is largely because he is the most mobile of the three backups. White will be the third quarterback because of his NFL experience. Blackman will continue to develop on the practice squad.
Main Photo: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
