Tyler Huntley

Dolphins To Prioritize Backup QB Job

January 8th, 2025 at 12:02pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Despite Tua Tagovailoa‘s history of concussions, the Dolphins did not upgrade at backup quarterback in 2024, sticking with Skylar Thompson and releasing Mike White before the start of the regular season.

Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said on Tuesday that the team was pursuing “a couple of top-flight backup QBs,” during last offseason, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, but couldn’t finalize any signings due to salary cap constraints. Instead, they had Thompson and White compete for the backup job in training camp.

White lost and joined the Bills’ practice squad, forcing the Dolphins to scramble in Week 2 when Tagovailoa went down. They signed Tyler Huntley off the Ravens’ practice squad and Tim Boyle off the street, though neither represented a serious improvement over Thompson.

Grier is determined to have more success finding a new backup after Huntley, Boyle, and Thompson went 2-4 as starters this season. The three combined for a 78.67 passer rating across their appearances, which would rank third-worst among qualified quarterbacks.

The annual quarterback carousel will give Grier plenty of options this offseason, though the Dolphins remain strapped for cap space. They’re already in the red for 2025 with just 37 players under contract, per OverTheCap. The usual array of cuts and restructures can free up some money, but Miami will still need to fill and upgrade their roster if they want to make the playoffs in 2025. Grier will have to balance his desire to shore up his quarterback room with his need to improve other areas of the team.

Dolphins Likely To Start Tyler Huntley In Week 18; Tua Tagovailoa’s Status For Playoffs Uncertain

January 5th, 2025 at 11:45am CST by Sam Robinson

JANUARY 5: Offering further context on Tagovailoa’s injury, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that the passer’s hip muscle could tear further if he continues playing, which is why he has not been medically cleared (video link). As such, even if the Dolphins secure the AFC’s final playoff spot today, it is uncertain whether their QB1 would be under center in the wildcard round.

JANUARY 3: Mike McDaniel poured cold water on any Dolphins hopes of having Tua Tagovailoa available for Week 18. Miami’s starting quarterback is unlikely to play against the Jets on Sunday.

A second straight Tyler Huntley start is now expected, ESPN.com’s Marcell Louis-Jacques tweets. This will deal a blow to the Dolphins’ chances of making a third consecutive playoff berth, though the team would need both a win and a Broncos loss to a Chiefs team resting starters to qualify. Sunday will be Huntley’s fifth start this season; the Dolphins are 2-2 with their backup at the wheel.

Tagovailoa is battling a hip injury, one that kept him out of Miami’s Week 17 game in Cleveland. The fifth-year QB is in line to miss his sixth game of the season, with the first four coming because of the concussion the talented passer suffered in Week 2. The Dolphins enter their regular-season finale at 8-8, with their quarterback’s injury trouble heavily factoring into that .500 record. This would mark the second time in three seasons Tagovailoa will have failed to finish a season; the former No. 5 overall pick’s 2022 concussion issues sidelined him to close out that campaign.

McDaniel described Tua’s injury as a “unique muscle issue,” rather than a bruise, via the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s David Furones. Surgery is not in play, McDaniel added (via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson), as this is rather a rest-and-rehab situation. Even so, it is still notable the former No. 5 overall pick could be shut down before season’s end. Tagovailoa dealt with injuries prior to his concussion-marred 2022 season, missing time in 2020 and ’21 — after he came into the league with a hip injury.

The dislocated hip Tagovailoa sustained in November 2019 affected the two-year Alabama starter’s draft stock, though Joe Burrow‘s dominant 2019 had plenty to do with where the 2020 draft’s QB prospects went. McDaniel has said this issue is unrelated to the college setback, which also involved a posterior wall fracture. That said, the Dolphins committed to Tagovailoa — via a four-year, $212.4MM extension — this summer. That preceded another concerning season on the injury front.

Between another concussion and another hip injury, Tagovailoa will enter the offseason with more doubts about his long-term stability. The southpaw QB has played well when healthy, leading the NFL in QBR in 2022 and pacing the league in passing yards (4,624) last season. Injuries have unfortunately been a significant part of Tua’s NFL career, and until he can show sustained health, questions in this area will persist.

Signed off the Ravens’ practice squad following Tagovailoa’s September concussion, Huntley has also needed an IR stint this season. The former Lamar Jackson Baltimore backup is a free agent at season’s end, but Miami wants to keep him around beyond that point. If the Broncos slip up against Chiefs backups Sunday, it will be Huntley playing the lead role in determining who the Bills’ first-round opponent will be. A Dolphins-Bills wild-card encounter would bring familiar territory, as a Tua-less Miami squad trekked to Buffalo with Skylar Thompson at the helm two years ago. Based on the information we have, Tagovailoa would be far from certain to play against the Bills if the Dolphins were to qualify this time around.

Tua Tagovailoa Uncertain For Week 18

January 2nd, 2025 at 9:46am CST by Sam Robinson

JANUARY 2: McDaniel’s latest update on Tagovailoa’s situation notes that Huntley remains on track to start (h/t ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques). Changes could take place over the coming days, but an increased practice participation on Tagovailoa’s part will likely be needed for him to suit up in Week 18.

DECEMBER 30: Although the Bengals kept their season alive by beating the Broncos in overtime Saturday, the Dolphins are ahead of the AFC North team in the wild-card pecking order. It will still take the Broncos losing to a Chiefs team prepared to sit starters in Week 18, but the Dolphins would advance if they won and Denver’s losing streak hit three.

Miami’s chances of winning in Week 18 do involve a Jets team that did not account itself well in Buffalo on Sunday, but the Dolphins are far from certain to have their quarterback available in their regular-season finale.

Tua Tagovailoa missed Week 17 with a hip injury, and although the Dolphins navigated a Browns team starting the potentially overmatched Dorian Thompson-Robinson at QB, the AFC East club may have secured a playoff spot by now had Tagovailoa not landed on IR earlier this season. Mike McDaniel‘s club fared poorly while its starter missed time due to a concussion, and the hip injury he sustained recently is not healing as the team hoped.

McDaniel said Tagovailoa’s status is in a “gray area” for Week 18 and that he was not medically cleared to play in Cleveland, via NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe. The Dolphins started Tyler Huntley against the Browns. After a 22-for-26 performance that included 225 yards and a touchdown, he may hear his number called once again.

Miami is now 2-4 in games Tagovailoa did not finish due to injury this season, falling toward the bottom of the league in offense during the starter’s initial absence. Huntley started both wins, with Skylar Thompson also at the controls in a Dolphins loss this season. The former multiyear Ravens backup, Huntley has enjoyed more time to get up to speed in McDaniel’s offense since Tua’s concussion-generated IR trip. But this is becoming all too familiar territory for the Dolphins, who are now committed long term to their southpaw starter.

Tagovailoa has missed five games this season, this coming after he missed six (counting a wild-card game) in 2022. The former No. 5 overall pick also missed time due to injury in 2020 and 2021, and his draft status was affected by the significant hip injury he suffered to close out his Alabama career. Tua played all 18 Dolphins games last season, helping him secure a four-year extension that came with $93.2MM guaranteed at signing and $167.2MM guaranteed in total. This season, however, has not brought the Dolphins much comfort on the availability front.

If the Broncos do slip up against a diminished version of the two-time defending champs, the prospect of Tagovailoa’s playoff ability would stand to come up. For now, the fifth-year passer has some time to recover. But the nature of this injury brings cause for concern given his past.

Dolphins Want To Re-Sign QB Tyler Huntley

December 29th, 2024 at 4:58pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Dolphins entered Sunday’s action still alive in the AFC wild-card race, but a steep path to a playoff spot still remains. If Miami falls short of the postseason, the team’s play on offense (particularly in the games without Tua Tagovailoa in the lineup) will be responsible to a significant extent.

Under head coach Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins have generally enjoyed success on offense when Tagovailoa is healthy (with exceptions against some of the league’s top defenses, to be fair) but their play on that side of the ball has notably regressed with other quarterbacks in place. That trend has largely continued in 2024, a year in which midseason signing Tyler Huntley has seen notable playing time. The Dania Beach native recently revealed he is on the Dolphins’ radar with respect to a contract for 2025.

“I got a good feeling I’m going to be home for a little bit,” Huntley said (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald). “I’m going to be down here in Miami in a little bit. It’s all God’s plans, but I’ve got a good feeling I’ll be home for a little bit.”

Huntley added his agent has been informed of the Dolphins’ desire to work out a deal keeping him in place beyond the rest of the campaign. The former UDFA spent considerable time with the Ravens as their backup, although he also made a total of 10 regular and postseason starts during that time. Baltimore elected to keep Josh Johnson in place for the QB2 role this offseason, leaving Huntley to sign with the Browns. He wound up being cut, however, and shortly before the start of the season he returned to the Ravens via a practice squad deal.

Not long after Tagovailoa suffered his most recent concussion, Huntley was added to Miami’s active roster and he made three starts before going down with a shoulder injury of his own. Now back in the fold and in the starting lineup for today’s must-win game as Tagovailoa deals with a hip injury, the 26-year-old is in position to help his free agent stock down the stretch with a rebound from his initial time atop the Dolphins’ depth chart (during which he posted a touchdown-to-interception ratio of only 1:1 and a passer rating of just 73.9).

As Jackson adds, Miami is expected to bring in other options for the backup gig this offseason. Tagovailoa inked a massive extension this past summer, but his history of concussions makes quality insurance at the QB2 spot something of particular importance for the Dolphins. Former seventh-rounder Skylar Thompson joins Huntley as a pending free agent, and the possibility remains both could be playing elsewhere in 2025. For the latter, though, it would not come as a surprise if he were to receive an extended opportunity to earn the backup role.

Dolphins Activate QB Tyler Huntley, Place OLB Tyus Bowser On IR

November 28th, 2024 at 6:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

Tua Tagovailoa will handle starting duties for the Dolphins tonight, but a different backup quarterback option will be in place. Tyler Huntley has been activated from injured reserve, per a team announcement.

A shoulder injury led Huntley onto IR in October, just as Tagovailoa returned from his concussion. The latter has remained healthy since, helping guide Miami to three straight wins as part of the team’s push for the postseason. He will of course continue operating as the Dolphins’ starter, but now Huntley will be available to serve as the backup.

The former UDFA began the season on the Ravens’ practice squad, but in the wake of Tagovailoa’s concussion he joined Miami’s roster. That move allowed Huntley to make three starts for the Dolphins prior to suffering his own injury, and in that span he did not put up notable production through the air or on the ground. Expectations will be tempered if the 26-year-old sees the field again in 2024, but he could take over from Skylar Thompson in the QB2 role. This move leaves Miami with three IR activations on the year.

In a corresponding move, edge rusher Tyus Bowser has been moved to injured reserve. Bowser made a pair of appearances with the Seahawks this season, his first regular season action since the 2022 campaign. The 29-year-old took a deal to join Miami’s active roster in October, though, reuniting with former Ravens staffer (and current Dolphins defensive coordinator) Anthony Weaver in the process.

Bowser has been a key figure at his position since arriving in Miami, logging a defensive snap share of 52%. He will now be sidelined for at least the next four games, and his absence will be felt given the team’s other injuries along the edge. Jaelan Phillips is out for the season, while Bradley Chubb has yet to suit up in 2024 as he continues rehabbing the ACL tear which ended his campaign last year. Chubb could suit up at some point this season, and with Bowser now out of the picture he could immediately step into a significant role.

Dolphins Place QB Tyler Huntley On IR

October 25th, 2024 at 5:26pm CST by Adam La Rose

Just as the Dolphins are set to get Tua Tagovailoa back in the lineup this week, they will be without Tyler Huntley for an extended stretch. The latter was placed on injured reserve Friday, per a team announcement.

Huntley is dealing with the shoulder injury which forced him out of Miami’s Week 7 contest. As a result of today’s news, he will be sidelined for at least the next four games. Of course, Tagovailoa’s return lessens the impact of losing Huntley, but his absence will still leave Miami short on depth options under center. The former Raven made three starts while filling in for the team’s injured starter.

Signed off Baltimore’s practice squad not long after Tagovailoa’s concussion, Huntley quickly became the Dolphins’ preferred QB option despite being unfamiliar with head coach Mike McDaniel‘s scheme. Former seventh-rounder Skylar Thompson did not fare well during his 2024 opportunities, nor did veteran Tim Boyle. The Dolphins’ offense has regressed considerably compared to last year in the wake of Tagovailoa going down, and the team ranks last in the NFL in scoring (11.7 yards per game).

Huntley spent much of his Baltimore tenure serving as Lamar Jackson‘s backup, and he made 22 appearances (including 10 starts) between the regular and postseason during that time. He joined the Browns in free agency as one of their depth signal-callers, but he was ultimately let go ahead of the roster cutdown deadline. That paved the way to a Ravens reunion, but by virtue of joining the team’s practice squad he was eligible to take a different opportunity on an active roster elsewhere.

The former UDFA managed just 377 yards and one touchdown (along with one interception) on 59.1% passing during his time atop the Dolphins’ depth chart. While Huntley added 67 yards and another score on the ground, his audition period with Miami will likely not yield a strong free agent market during the spring. With Tagovailoa back in the fold, Thompson and Boyle will be used as the team’s other signal-callers while attempting to rebound from a 2-4 start.

Dolphins To Start QB Tyler Huntley In Week 4

September 28th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Ben Levine

The Dolphins will have a new QB under center on Monday night. Coach Mike McDaniel told reporters (including Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald) that Tyler Huntley will start at quarterback vs. the Titans.

Huntley’s promotion to QB1 seemed increasingly likely as Skylar Thompson was limited at practice all week with a rib injury. McDaniel acknowledged as much to reporters, noting that it was “supremely obvious” that Huntley “had what it takes” to guide the offense (via ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques).

Thompson got the first chance to fill in for Tua Tagovailoa, but the former seventh-round pick was knocked out of the team’s Week 3 loss with a rib injury. Tim Boyle ended up finishing that contest, but the veteran will revert to his standard backup role in Week 4 (per NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe).

While Tagovailoa is showing positive signs in his recovery from yet another concussion, the starter doesn’t have a definitive return timeline. The team snagged Huntley off Baltimore’s practice squad following Tagovailoa’s Week 2 head injury, but with less than a week of practice time before Week 3, it seemed inevitable that Thompson would get the Week 3 nod. Following Thompson’s ugly performance last weekend, the Dolphins staff continued to give the third-year pro a vote of confidence (per Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald), a sign that he could be inserted back into the starting lineup when he’s healthy.

For the time being, Huntley will have a chance to run with the job during Tagovailoa’s absence. The former UDFA spent the majority of his career in Baltimore serving as Lamar Jackson‘s backup. Huntley went 3-6 as a starter between the 2021 and 2023 campaigns. That included an infamous 2022 season where he earned a Pro Bowl nod despite starting only four games. In total, the 26-year-old has completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 1,957 yards, eight touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He’s also collected 509 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 115 attempts.

Huntley hit free agency this offseason and caught on with the Browns. Cleveland unsuccessfully shopped the backup before releasing him during final cuts. He was quickly added to the Ravens practice squad to serve as the third QB behind Jackson and Josh Johnson.

Dolphins Unlikely To Consider QB Trade

September 25th, 2024 at 1:50pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Despite a worsening injury crisis under center, the Dolphins are not expected to trade for an available QB, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano.

Tua Tagovailoa landed on injured reserve after his Week 2 concussion, only for his replacement, Skylar Thompson, to exit with a chest injury in Week 3. The Dolphins also have Tyler Huntley and Tim Boyle on the roster, but Graziano adds the team likely prefers to start Thompson. Huntley arrived in Miami just last week, and Boyle only completed seven of 13 passing attempts for 79 yards in his relief appearance on Sunday.

The Dolphins’ Week 3, undecided at this juncture, starting QB likely comes down to practice availability. If Thompson is healthy enough to practice, Mike McDaniel could stick with the more familiar signal-caller and give Huntley an additional week to learn the offense. If Thompson cannot practice, though, Huntley will be able to take even more reps to pick up McDaniel’s system, or at least a simplified version of it.

Miami’s focus on a short-term fix at quarterback stems from the belief that Tagovailoa intends to return to the field this season. He is still consulting neurologists to determine the best path forward after hits third concussion in as many years, with an earliest possible return date of Week 8. Making a splash move for another QB – whether it be a veteran like Russell Wilson or young reclamation project like Bryce Young – could complicate Tagovailoa’s recovery and return and impact the relationship between the Dolphins and their franchise quarterback.

Instead, the Dolphins are more likely to stick with stopgap options under center. Even if Thompson is healthy enough to start in Week 4, he will have to show improvements to keep the job. Another lackluster performance could give Huntley — Lamar Jackson‘s top backup for three seasons — and opening to earn a few starts of his own once he’s fully up to speed in Miami.

Either way, the starting gig will go back to Tagovailoa if he is cleared to play again this season. But if additional tests and evaluations reveal a long-term problem, the Dolphins will need to consider a more concrete answer at quarterback — potentially through trade if their short-term replacements cannot produce.

Dolphins Unsure Of Week 4 Starting QB

September 24th, 2024 at 10:02pm CST by Adam La Rose

Skylar Thompson started the Dolphins’ Week 3 loss, the first contest following Tua Tagovailoa‘s concussion. Thompson had to exit the game due to a rib injury, however, and his status is now in the air.

“I think we have an important 48 hours to see where [Thompson’s] at,” head coach Mike McDaniel said when speaking to the media on Tuesday (via NFL.com). “We’ll just have to take it a day at a time. There’s a lot on the table.”

Indeed, Thompson’s health situation will be closely monitored in the immediate future. The former seventh-rounder beat out Mike White for the backup gig the offseason; that set him up to take over from Tagovailoa, who is on injured reserve and does not have a return timeline at this point. Thompson completed 13 of 19 passes on Sunday, but he was sacked five times and did not lead any touchdown drives during the 24-3 loss against the Seahawks. He will likely remain atop the depth chart if healthy, but it remains to be seen if that will be the case for Week 4.

If Thompson is unable to play, Tim Boyle (who was a gameday elevation from the practice squad for Week 3 and took over from Thompson on Sunday) would be an option to get the start. The other route available to Miami would be giving Tyler Huntley the nod. Huntley was signed off the Ravens’ practice squad in the wake of the Tagovailoa injury, a move he hoped would come to pass. The 26-year-old has not had a long period to acclimate to the Dolphins’ offense, but McDaniel added (via Jason Owens of Yahoo Sports) starting Huntley is a possibility at this point.

The 1-2 Dolphins will play the 0-3 Titans in Week 4, a game both teams will need to win to rebound from poor starts to the campaign. In Tennessee’s case, the quarterback position is not a question mark with Will Levis recently receiving a vote of confidence. For Miami, though, the situation under center is yet to be determined.

QB Tyler Huntley Addresses Dolphins Deal

September 19th, 2024 at 1:39pm CST by Adam La Rose

Tua Tagovailoa is on injured reserve in the wake of his latest concussion. A multi-week absence (at a minimum) is in store as a result, and the Dolphins added quarterback depth in the form of Tyler Huntley.

Skylar Thompson will serve as Miami’s starter moving forward, but the team opted to add Huntley off the Ravens’ practice squad on Monday. That move came in lieu of promoting Tim Boyle from the Dolphins’ own taxi squad. Huntley is now the team’s QB2, a role he envisioned for himself shortly after Tagovailoa’s injury.

“I was thinking about it a lot,” the Dania, Florida native said when speaking to the media upon arrival with the Dolphins (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). “I was really thinking about it coming out of the draft and I was hoping Miami would have come and got me. But, you know, God’s plan and we’re here now.”

Huntley went undrafted despite a strong finish to his college career. The Utah product led the country in passer rating and completion percentage in 2019, and his dual-threat skillset made him a target of the Ravens. Upon signing with Baltimore, Huntley spent time as Lamar Jackson‘s backup for several years. He made 22 total regular and postseason appearances, a figure which includes 10 starts. One of those was during the wild-card round of the 2022 playoffs, but with Jackson healthy last year his only full contest came during a meaningless Week 18 game.

The 26-year-old signed with the Browns in free agency, but Cleveland also brought in Jameis Winston as a Joe Flacco backup replacement. The team elected to keep Winston and Dorian Thompson–Robinson in place behind Deshaun Watson, leading Huntley to return to the Ravens. Baltimore has Jackson and Josh Johnson on the active roster, though, so the Dolphins offer a better path to playing time at least while Tagovailoa is sidelined.

Thompson’s performances over the coming weeks will be critical as the Dolphins look to remain competitive without Tagovailoa. Huntely may play a role in that effort, but even if not he is now with the team he originally hoped to join upon entering the NFL.

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