Miami Dolphins free agency plan at quarterback will be scrutinized

The Miami Dolphins do not have much to do at the quarterback position, just sign a capable backup in case Tua Tagovailoa goes down, that’s all.

Skylar Thompson will enter the 2023 season as the third quarterback on the roster and while he performed admirably last year when he was called upon, he is still too raw to be considered a viable option should Tua go down to injury or concussion.

This means that the Dolphins should hit free agency looking for a quarterback to be the number two on the team. Last year the Dolphins put Teddy Bridgewater in that role and it was a disaster. Still, there are some in the media that believe Miami could bring him back for another season with a non-guaranteed contract or at the very least a lot less than the $8 million they guaranteed him last year.

That wouldn’t be smart but Miami has done a lot worse over the years so would it be surprising?

Miami has five options at quarterback this off-season and all of them will come with a degree of skepticism and potential outrage.

• Trade for a quarterback to replace Tua – Expect outrage.
• Trade for a backup quarterback – Why trade for a backup?
• Draft a quarterback and make him the backup – What does that say about Thompson?
• Sign a free agent veteran to hold the clipboard – This makes the most “logical” sense.
• Make Thompson the backup – A risky move

The first two make little sense for the Dolphins. The third would make little sense as well give the fact Miami doesn’t have a first-round draft pick and if you are drafting a developmental QB in the mid to late rounds, that is what Thompson was brought in for.

The fourth option, signing a veteran FA, makes the most sense, and the Dolphins need to get someone on board that can be relied upon should Tua miss time. Many suggest Mitch Trubisky as an option but he has flamed out in Chicago and was replaced by a rookie in Pittsburgh last season. A capable backup? Probably.

Miami’s biggest issue at the position is there are no guarantees that if Tua goes down that he will miss just the remainder of the game (pulled for a suspected concussion). Miami’s bigger problem is what happens if he misses multiple games. Will any backup be able to step into Mike McDaniel’s offense and run it as easily as Tua can? Probably not.

So what should the Dolphins do? Honestly, they have few options. They are riding with Tua and that creates potential issues. The best they can do is study the available free agents and get a guy that wants to play and hope for the best. The best being, of course, is that they never have to worry about the backup position at all.