Quarterback Skylar Thompson will be the starter for the Miami Dolphins as Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
The Dolphins plan to bring in another quarterback for depth following the injury sustained by Tagovailoa during their 31-10 home loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night. There are only two QBs on the current 53-man roster and none on the practice squad.
“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa exited in the third quarter after a collision with Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin. Thompson entered and completed 8 of 14 passes for 80 yards with no touchdowns, no interceptions and one sack.
Thompson, 27, was a seventh-round pick by Miami in 2022 and was making his first appearance since a wild-card playoff loss at Buffalo on Jan. 15, 2023.
As a rookie in 2022, Thompson made two starts for an injured Tagovailoa and completed 57.1 percent of his pass attempts for 534 yards with one TD and three picks.
“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”
Tagovailoa, 26, entered concussion protocol as the Dolphins (1-1) began preparations for their Week 3 game at Seattle on Sept. 22.
McDaniel said Friday it is too early to speculate on the availability of Tagovailoa, who suffered at least his third concussion as an NFL player when his head bounced off the turf.
“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”
McDaniel said Tagovailoa will be evaluated Friday at the team facility.
“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said.
“The best thing I can do is not try to assess what this even means from a football standpoint,” he added.
Tagovailoa, who started all 17 games and led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards last season, was intercepted three times before leaving Thursday’s game.
–Field Level Media