Dolphins rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson arrived at training camp knowing he had an uphill battle to make the roster: Tua Tagovailoa is the starter, and Teddy Bridgewater has the No. 2 job, and Thompson will have to perform well to convince the Dolphins to keep three quarterbacks.
Thompson is doing enough to make a good case for himself.
In the Dolphins’ second preseason game, Thompson went 9-for-10 for 129 yards, with one touchdown, no interceptions and no sacks. That followed an impressive preseason debut in which Thompson completed 20 of 28 passes for 218 yards, with one touchdown, no interceptions and three sacks.
So is Thompson going to force the Dolphins to keep three quarterbacks?
“That decision is out of my control,” Thompson said. “All I can do is focus on being the best teammate that I can possibly be every day, continue to grow and try to learn and get better. That’s really all I’m focused on right now, and everything else I know will take care of itself whichever way that may fold. This is out of my hands. I’m just here to be a good teammate – help the team the most whichever way I can.”
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said after the game that Thompson’s improvement on the field in preseason games is a direct result of his hard work in the meeting rooms and on the practice field.
“I’ve seen continued improvement, but he is very diligent about the process,” McDaniel said of Thompson. “He has got the makeup of what it takes to be an NFL quarterback, so I think all of his teammates can feel that too.”
Last year the Dolphins were in a similar situation when third-string quarterback Reid Sinnett played very well in the preseason. The Dolphins decided not to keep Sinnett on the 53-man roster and instead put him on the practice squad, but the Eagles signed him away to their active roster, and Sinnett is now in Philadelphia. Ideally, the Dolphins would probably prefer to give Thompson a year on the practice squad, but they may not want to risk putting him on waivers and letting another team claim him. Thompson is looking like he’s going to make the Dolphins’ roster -- and looking like a quarterback who should have been drafted higher than the seventh round.
