While Miami Dolphins fans celebrated the release of Skylar Thompson last week, the reality was there was no way he wouldn't be back, and he is, but 2022 could have gone much differently for the Dolphins.
Thompson has had three years in the Dolphins' system, and this year, he once again proved that he wasn't ready. That makes the Dolphins' opponent that much more heartbreaking. It's a classic case of 20/20 vision in hindsight. Had the Dolphins drafted their opponent in 2022 instead of Thompson, this team may look a lot different.
It was in 2022 that Brock Purdy took over for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo and faced the Miami Dolphins in San Francisco. Dolphins fans looked at this as a walk-off victory, but instead, Purdy put up decent numbers and led the 49ers to a 33-17 win. He went on to win his first five starts after beating Miami.
Purdy hasn't looked back. He isn't perfect, and this year has been a struggle, but he led the 49ers to a Super Bowl in his second NFL season and will now face the team he wanted to draft him.
It has been no secret that Purdy's favorite player is Dan Marino. He wears the number 13 because of it. Purdy wanted the Dolphins to draft him but instead, Miami chose Thompson.
Would drafting Brock Purdy change the dynamics of the Dolphins as it relates to Tua Tagovailoa?
Falling under the umbrella of "you can't change history," Purdy would have potentially started three games in 2022 for the Dolphins and played all but one snap against the Jets in Week 5 when Teddy Bridgewater was knocked out of the game. Would he have taken Tua's job? No, not like he did in San Francisco.
In 2023, Purdy would have received mop-up play as the Dolphins' backup, much like Thompson, but the question is, would the Dolphins have been as pressed to get Tua extended if they had Purdy behind him rather than a combination of Mike White, Tim Boyle, and Thompson?
The next question is whether or not the Dolphins would be in a much better situation had Purdy started the four games Tua missed earlier in the season. It's probably a good thing the Dolphins didn't draft for him, at least for his sake. In San Francisco, they turned the franchise over to him. In Miami, he would likely still be standing with a clipboard.
Regardless of what might have been, the Dolphins are clinging to their final hopes of staying in the playoff chase, and they will do so against a 49ers team that, much like the Dolphins in 2024, has been disappointing.