Dolphins Stock Report (Day 9): Are Dolphins having a QB competition in camp?

Mike White and Skylar Thompson rotate who works with the second team offense on a somewhat regular basis.

That’s how the Miami Dolphins have conducted business with Tua Tagovailoa’s backups for the past two seasons, since White signed a two-year, $8 million deal in the 2022 offseason to join his hometown team.

Problem is, neither of them know if they are actually competing for the role as Miami’s No. 2 quarterback.

“My approach to this is improving each and every day. This is my third year in the system and I’m just trying to show that,” said Thompson, who has seemingly had his stature elevated the past three days, for unknown reasons.

When asked if it’s an open competition, Thompson said he hasn’t been told that, and recommended the media seek an answer from head coach Mike McDaniel. White served as Tagovailoa’s backup all last season.

“I’ve been approaching each and every day like it’s a new day and trying to make the best of my opportunity’s,” said Thompson, who last played in an NFL game that mattered in Miami’s 34-31 playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, where he threw for 220 yards on 45 attempts, throwing for one touchdown, two interceptions as a rookie pressed into action because of a second concussion Tagovailoa suffered late in that 2022 season..

While White, who has a career passer rating of 76.1 from the 14 games he’s played in the past three seasons, showcases a higher level of understanding with this offense, Thompson typically practices and plays with a feast or famine approach, one that is reminiscent of Matt Moore, the backup in Miami during the Ryan Tannehill era who had a reputation for being a gunslinger.

According to Thompson, the game is beginning to slow down for him, even though that hasn’t exactly been reflected in his nine training camp practices thus far.

“I’m not thinking about the little tedious things in the offense. It’s kind of become second nature to me,” said Thompson, a former Kansas State standout whom the Dolphins selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft. “It allows me to play faster so far this camp, [helping] me move on to the second and third level things in this offense. Not just learning the formations, shifts changes and motions….I’m able to grow into what the system truly is.”

This quarterback competition has some roster construction significance to it because new NFL rules, which allows the practice squad quarterback to be active for every game as of 2024, could encourage the Dolphins to only keep two on the 53-man roster.

However, if the player released is Thompson he’d need to clear waivers to re-sign with Miami.

White is owed $3.5 million in base salary this season, and it all gets returned in cap space if Miami releases him when it’s time to produce the 53-man roster at the end of August.

TOP PERFORMER

Stock Up

Teair Tart was abusing Andrew Meyer all practice, pushing him into the backfield to the point the backup center was disruptive to whatever quarterback he was snapping to. Tart, whom the Dolphins signed with the hope he’d push for a starting role, had gotten off to a slow start in camp., so much so that position coach Austin Clark has asked for him to bring a more consistent effort. That was clearly on display Saturday because he was a wrecking ball.

Jeff Wilson’s fighting to not become the forgotten player in Miami’s crowded backfield. He’s run hard this camp, and on Saturday he maximized every opportunity during a heavy inside run day. Wilson, who had the orange jersey designation one day last week, must prove he has what it takes to help Miami address the team’s short yardage conversion issues.

Stock Down

Jack Driscoll, a free agent the Dolphins signed to a one-year deal worth $1.8 million ($500,000 of which was guaranteed), was supposed to compete with Liam Eichenberg for the starting right guard role, but that battle hasn’t heated up as of yet. Driscoll has been decent, but has the movement skills of an offensive tackle, which would handcuff the Dolphins offensive line on pulling plays. Maybe he turns up the volume on his performance in next week’s joint practices against the Atlanta Falcons, and Friday night’s preseason opening game. But for now, Driscoll looks like the eighth or ninth man on Miami’s offensive line.

Chasen Hines has ability. That’s the reason the former LSU standout was taken in the sixth round by the New England Patriots in 2022. It’s the reason Miami invested a full season into the 6-foot-3, 335 pounder last year, keeping him on the practice squad for the entire season. While Hines has had days he’s flashed in training camp, he’s also had days he’s disappeared. Saturday wasn’t one of those days because Hines made a couple of decent run blocks. But more is required if his South Florida stay is going to extend past August.

TAKEAWAY FROM THE DAY

Even though the edge spots probably sat atop everyone’s list when it came to positions of concern heading into training camp, the first nine sessions of training camp should ease some of the team’s concerns. Emmanuel Ogbah has probably never practiced better than he has right now considering he consistently makes his presence felt. Quinton Bell, practice squad player last season, has been one of the biggest surprises of camp, and Chop Robinson is progressively getting better on a daily basis.

WHAT THEY SAID

“This is a new team. We’re talking it upon ourselves as players to make it extremely hard on each other so as we go out to the game adversity is nothing new to us. We’ve been here and practiced in it. This is what we’ve practiced,” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said. “This is the team that we have this year. There are some guys that are back who have gone through the adversity we’ve gone through the past couple of years. This is a new team, new season and we’re looking forward to making a run at this.”