Positional preview: Breaking down quarterback after the 53-man roster cutdown
Quarterback is the most important position on an NFL roster, as they set everything in motion for the offense. If a team is lacking a true starter, they better be perfect everywhere else, or they’re not going far.
Historically, the Miami Dolphins have had some really strong starters from Bob Griese to Dan Marino to Ryan Tannehill, but at this point, they’re trying to figure out if they have the quarterback to build around or if they should try again with a veteran or a rookie in 2023.
Before the start of the 2022 regular season, we’re going to take a look at the 53-man roster and assess the state of each position. Today, we’ll start with the quarterback.
Tua Tagovailoa
Miami’s incumbent starter is in an interesting spot in 2022, as he’s heading into the third season of his career. That’s generally when teams decide on a quarterback’s future, and that looks like it’ll be the case for the former first-round selection.
Tagovailoa has looked solid throughout camp and in his limited preseason action. He has a new head coach, who brings an offensive system that is historically beneficial for quarterbacks, more weapons and an improved offensive line.
With his accuracy and quick decision-making, Tagovailoa could thrive in this offense and earn a second contract, but if he fails and looks like the same quarterback we’ve watched in his first two years, Miami may start looking elsewhere.
Teddy Bridgewater
After Jacoby Brissett backed up Tagovailoa in 2021 and was thrust into a few games, the Dolphins decided to bring in Teddy Bridgewater on a one-year deal worth $6.5 million to handle those responsibilities.
Bridgewater has plenty of starter experience, leading Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos at different points.
He can provide Tagovailoa with valuable knowledge of how to be a starter in this league, and if the former Crimson Tide quarterback goes down again, the offense will be in capable hands.
Skylar Thompson
If you’d predicted that the seventh-round selection out of Kansas State would be on the roster when he was selected, most probably would’ve believed you were crazy. However, that’s exactly where we are at this point.
Thompson had a stellar offseason, quickly beating out Chris Streveler for the third-string job before going on to have one of the best preseasons by any quarterback this year.
The former Wildcat finished the three games with the eighth-most passing yards (450), most touchdowns (five) and first in quarterback rating (138.4), and he did all of it without throwing an interception.
Any team that gets down to their third quarterback in a season is going to be in a bad spot, but Miami may feel better than most teams about their situation. If he doesn’t play at all in 2022, which is something the Dolphins are hoping for, he’ll get invaluable experience as he watches and learns from Tagovailoa and Bridgewater.
