The Miami Dolphins’ backup quarterback situation has been a disaster for a few years now. Mike White, Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle, and Tyler Huntley are not quality NFL quarterbacks.
Last season, you can make a strong case that Mike McDaniel and Chris Grier’s lack of attention to the backup quarterback situation in the roster construction in the lead-up to the 2024 season cost the Dolphins a chance of making the playoffs.
This offseason, the Dolphins did look to revamp who will be backing up Tua Tagovailoa this season. As we know, expecting Tua to play a full 17-game season is like expecting the state of Florida to go without rain for a month. It’s just not happening.
But with this revamp and new look of the Miami Dolphins quarterback room, the million-dollar question is, did the Dolphins improve their backup quarterback situation?
Yes, there are new faces, but are they any better than the guys we have had as backup quarterbacks the last two seasons?
The goal here isn’t to find guys who will be a little bit better than Huntley/Skylar; it’s to find guys who are substantially better in case they are forced to start games for a month or so if/when Tua goes out.
I know Dolphins fans want to HOPE so, but HOPE isn’t an answer.
Let’s start by looking at Zach Wilson.
The former #2 overall pick of the NY Jets, who spent last season with the Denver Broncos, will be Tua’s primary backup for Miami in 2025. He signed a 1-year deal for $6 million per Adam Schefter, and it could grow to $10 million if incentives are met.
Wilson did not play in 2024, but during his NFL career, he has played in 34 games, starting 33 of them, and has thrown 23 touchdowns and 25 interceptions.
Wilson’s record as a starting quarterback is 12-21, with a very underwhelming 57% completion percentage.
Wilson’s time with the Jets was a bumpy ride. He had zero offensive weapons around him and poor offensive coaches. As the #2 overall pick, he was set up to fail, and he did indeed fail.
The Dolphins are banking on Wilson having a career resurgence, much like Sam Darnold did. A former high draft pick who got on a team with weapons, with an offensive-minded coach who then finally had a quality season. And with it being a 1-year deal, the risk level for Miami is very low.
The question the Dolphins do not know is, did Zach Wilson learn anything with the Broncos last season, and by not playing?
I know the Broncos gave glowing reports about him, but we didn’t get a chance to see him on the field.
If Miami gets the NY Jets’ Zach Wilson, then, no, they haven’t upgraded the backup quarterback room. If Wilson has improved, well, we will see if there is an upgrade over what Miami has had in recent seasons.
Quinn Ewers is a total wild card.
I know many will not give him the time of day, and brush him off because he was a 7th-round draft pick.
So he must suck right?
Well, no.
Prior to the 2024 NFL Draft, there was speculation that Quinn Ewers would be the top pick in the 2025 draft.
There was a ton of hype around him, and the hype was legit because he was tearing it up at Texas on the field.
But some injuries hampered him this past season at Texas.
Hence, he falls to the 7th round.
Ewers committed to Texas initially, but then decommitted and decided to go to Ohio State. Then, shockingly, he reclassified from the 2022 class to the 2021 class and joined Ohio State a year early to collect NIL money over $1 million. Something he couldn’t have done if he stayed for his senior year in Texas, because, due to Texas state law, a high school student couldn’t receive NIL money while in High School.
Ewers’ time at Ohio State didn’t last long, and he eventually transferred to Texas, where he was the winningest quarterback in College football for three seasons.
After his 2023 season, many believed Ewers would be a first-round draft pick, some even saying the top half of round one.
Fans of some NFL teams were even chanting the mantra “DON’T WIN FOR QUINN” in the vein of “Suck for Luck” and “Tank for Tua.”
But in the 2024 season, in which Quinn threw for 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, he was sidetracked at times by injuries, and he didn’t live up to the hype surrounding him entering this past season.
Now, Quinn enters the NFL, joining the Miami Dolphins as a 7th-round draft pick, with no pressure on him for the first time in his life and no expectations put on him.
Quinn is allowed to play football and will have to earn his spot.
Nothing will be given to him.
In Miami, his best-case scenario is to win the #3 QB job this year and sit behind Tua Tagovailoa and Zach Wilson this season.
In the long term, he could supplant Wilson, who is only on a one-year deal as the backup quarterback.
If Tua’s injuries continue to sideline him as they do most seasons, he will have an opportunity for more.
But more won’t be expected, and that pressure will not be on his shoulders.
He is just another 7th-round draft pick trying to earn his keep in the NFL for now.
So, that leads us to our original question: Has Miami improved at the backup quarterback position?
I think the answer is NO!
New Faces: YES
New Hope: YES
But Better: NOPE!
Honestly, it is a big unknown.
I don’t think the backups in Wilson and Ewers will be worse than Huntley/Skyler were last year.
But I can’t sit here today in May and say the Dolphins upgraded the room.
Maybe Grier and McDaniel should have done more and brought in a proven veteran. Time will tell, and if the season goes off the rails because Tua goes down and Miami is caught flat-footed again, then they will have to answer to that, possibly with their jobs.
But for now, all we can do is hope that Zach Wilson can answer the bell should he be forced to play
