The Miami Dolphins will likely wait until Tuesday to make their final decision about which quarterback will be Tua Tagovailoa’s backup this season. It seems like a no-brainer at this point, though.
Skylar Thompson’s performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should be enough to give him the job.
Prior to the Dolphins’ first preseason game, coach Mike McDaniel said Thompson was “neck and neck” for the job with Mike White, the incumbent who won the battle in 2023. But after two preseason games, neither player did much to secure the role.
White completed 15-of-34 passes for 142 yards, while Thompson’s numbers were essentially the same with 16 completions on 34 attempts for 156 yards. Wide receiver injuries, backup offensive linemen, and coaches intentionally putting the passers in tough situations was largely to blame for the subpar performances. Still, neither stepped up … until Friday night.
After White showed more of the same, competing five of nine passes for 37 yards, Thompson lit it up Friday night. He led the Dolphins down the field on 70- and 76-yard touchdown drives with plenty of impressive throws along the way.
Skylar Thompson 🎯 Mike Harley Jr.
📱: Stream #MIAvsTB on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/4YYt7LvJWp
— NFL (@NFL) August 24, 2024
Thompson’s night ended with an ugly interception, but it didn’t erase the fact that — for the first time in August — one of the Dolphins’ two backup quarterbacks actually led the offense to some success.
“I think Skylar did a great job tonight,” McDaniel said after the game. “I thought that he was competitive, made some plays, and kind of got us going tonight.”
If Thompson’s breakout performance Friday wasn’t enough to make the decision easy, the money should. While Thompson is due to count $1,005,552 against the Dolphins’ salary cap in 2024, White’s cap hit is $5,210,000. Miami can get $3.5 million of it back by releasing White.
McDaniel wasn’t ready to make any final decisions Friday night after the game, but — lucky for him — it seems Thompson made it for him.
