Tyler Huntley has been a member of the Miami Dolphins for a little more than a week, but when the Tennessee Titans come to South Beach on Monday night, the 26-year-old quarterback may be asked to start for his new team.
After only a handful of practice days in Miami, Huntley is already feeling like he’s starting to get the hang of Mike McDaniel’s offense.
“It’s like riding a bike – first time, you’re a little iffy, you didn’t know how to pedal,” Huntley told reporters Thursday. “Then you just start putting it all together, pedaling, going in a straight line, then after a while, you’re going to start standing up.”
In the Dolphins’ 24-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Huntley was an emergency third quarterback because McDaniel felt it was too soon to expect him to be comfortable running the offense.
But with Skylar Thompson now dealing with a rib injury, it may be Huntley — who is working to memorize the playbook as fast as possible — who is thrust into action.
“You’ve got to literally learn it like learning for the bar exam,” Huntley said. “You’ve got to go all in and just absorb everything that’s in the playbook. … Later on in the week, we’ll be able to dumb down how many [plays] we like or don’t like.”
McDaniel says he’s been impressed by the rapid progress Huntley is making since his arrival in Miami last week.
“[I’m] very, very encouraged,” McDaniel said. “I think we – Chris (Grier) and his staff, in conjunction with the coaching staff — we targeted him for a reason. … I can see him gain the confidence of his teammates as well.”
“Tremendous work ethic,” Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill said Thursday when asked about Huntley. “He’s a special talent. We’ve got a lot of things that go into this offense. We got motions, we’ve got getting the play out before, so he’s done a good job of staying in the film room learning all of that stuff.”
On Thursday, McDaniel said he wasn’t ready to decide which quarterback will start for the Dolphins on Monday against the Tennessee Titans, in part because of the “competitive advantage” that comes with waiting to make the announcement.
Huntley, who earned Pro Bowl honors in 2022 despite making just four starts, has eight career touchdown passes with seven interceptions.
