{"id":189591,"date":"2024-09-13T14:15:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T18:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=189591"},"modified":"2024-09-13T12:19:22","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T16:19:22","slug":"miami-dolphins-quarterback-depth-eight-players-the-team-should-target-after-tuas-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/09\/13\/miami-dolphins-quarterback-depth-eight-players-the-team-should-target-after-tuas-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami Dolphins Quarterback Depth: Eight Players the Team Should Target after Tua’s Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Miami Dolphins quarterback room took a devastating blow when former Pro-Bowler and 2023 NFL Passing Yards Leader Tua Tagovailoa<\/a> reportedly<\/a> suffered a concussion in a blowout loss to the rival Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football. This is the third reported concussion that the 26-year-old quarterback<\/a> has been diagnosed with in his young NFL career.<\/p>\n

Miami Dolphins Quarterback Depth: Eight Players the Team Should Target after Tua’s Injury<\/h2>\n

The Miami Dolphins Quarterback situation is in crisis after Tua Tagovailoa’s third career concussion.<\/h3>\n

First and foremost, this development leaves fans worried about the human being underneath the football helmet. Head Coach Mike McDaniel<\/a> set this tone expressing<\/a> worry for Tua’s overall health and wellbeing. This injury will undoubtedly lead to speculation<\/a> that the former Alabama superstar’s career could be in question. It also leaves the 2024 NFL season in complete chaos for the Dolphins.<\/p>\n

The Backup<\/h3>\n

For now, backup Skylar Thompson<\/a> will prepare to lead one of football’s most dangerous set of skill position players. However, the second-year QB’s 57.1% completion rate, one career passing touchdown, and three career interceptions hardly inspire confidence.<\/p>\n

At a minimum, Miami must bring in a second quarterback<\/a> to provide depth. If they are wise, they will also consider adding a player with a higher upside than Thompson. What options does the club have? Here are three that make sense.<\/p>\n

The Options<\/h3>\n

1) Ryan Tannehill<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tannehill is a familiar name in South Beach, as he was a staple of Miami’s football team from 2012-2018. To date, the 11-year veteran has thrown for 34,881 passing yards and 216 passing touchdowns. While the 36-year-old signal-caller is far from his prime, he started eight games for the Titans last season.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, Tannehill is also (by far) the most recognizable and stable name in the NFL’s pool for free agents. Adding him to the roster would require nothing more than a phone call and a contract offer.<\/p>\n

Regardless of whether or not he emerges as a starter, Tannehill represents an opportunity to bring stability to the QB room with a veteran presence. At this point in the season, he is the ultimate no-risk, high-reward option. He should be the first phone call made by Dolphins’ General Manager Chris Grier.<\/p>\n

2) Zach Wilson<\/strong><\/p>\n

How far the mighty have fallen. This is the case with both the Fish’s QB room and for Wilson’s career as a whole. The former top draft pick<\/a> quickly flamed out for the NY Jets, and now finds himself as a backup with the Denver Broncos.<\/p>\n

Wilson was recently mentioned<\/a> as a potential trade candidate, as he finds himself as the third-string option behind rookie Bo Nix and backup Jarrett Stidham in Denver. He is far from a slam dunk. However, the potential at the former top prospect could recapture his form and regain his confidence under the player-friendly style of McDaniel. After all, Miami’s fearless leader worked wonders rebuilding Tua’s confidence and swagger after a rough start to his career under form coach Brian Flores.<\/p>\n

The floor with Wilson is incredibly low. However, his ceiling in this unique offense is likely higher than Thompsons. He is a low-cost option worth consideration as a future Miami Dolphins quarterback.<\/p>\n

3) Mac Jones<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adding Jones would be more difficult than the first two options, as he is the only backup on Jacksonville’s depth chart. However, the former first-round pick would surely be available if Grier and company put together a worthwhile trade package.<\/p>\n

Like Wilson, Jones’s early career was a bit of a disaster. He reached the Pro Bowl in his rookie campaign in New England, before quickly falling from grace and getting relegated to a bench role with his second franchise.<\/p>\n

Jones would also greatly benefit from a confidence transplant. And where better to find his second wind than with McDaniels and the Fish?<\/p>\n

His upside is lower. But his floor is also likely higher than Wilson’s floor. Adding the former Alabama star (and former Tua teammate) would give the fanbase a shot of hope to salvage the 2024 season.<\/p>\n

4) Mike White<\/strong><\/p>\n

Veteran Mike White holds a leg up over every other player on this list: He was in Dolphins training camp and is already familiar with the playbook, culture, and team. White narrowly lost<\/a> the backup QB battle to Thompson before the 2024 regular season began.<\/p>\n

While he is currently on the rival Bills’ practice squad, his familiarity with Miami’s systems makes him the perfect short-term target.<\/p>\n

White’s career numbers (2,219 career passing yards, nine touchdowns, and 13 interceptions) are nothing special on paper, the former University of South Florida star had a sensational and historic<\/a> run after subbing in as the starter for the New York Jets in 2022. Perhaps White could provide a similar run as the Miami Dolphins quarterback?<\/p>\n

Honorable Mentions for Miami Dolphins Quarterback:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • PJ Walker (Free Agent)<\/li>\n
  • Taylor Heinicke (Los Angeles Chargers)<\/li>\n
  • Jimmy Garoppolo (Los Angeles Rams) *Currently suspended<\/em><\/li>\n
  • Trevor Siemian (Free Agent)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Main Photo: [Sam Navarro] – USA Today Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Miami Dolphins Quarterback situation hit rock bottom after Tua’s injury. However, there are still eight options that would help the team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2957,"featured_media":189660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,4],"tags":[7261,89,814,4443,7201],"class_list":["post-189591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-dolphins","tag-mac-jones","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-ryan-tannehill","tag-tua-tagovailoa","tag-zach-wilson"],"modified_by":"Michael Zimmelman","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2957"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}