MIAMI — Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said it’s “a little premature” to name a starting quarterback for this week’s game against the Tennessee Titans.
Speaking to local media Thursday, McDaniel said he had an idea of who will start Monday night but added the team will continue to evaluate the position over the next couple days.
Starter Tua Tagovailoa was placed on injured reserve after suffering a concussion in Week 2; Skylar Thompson started in his place during last week’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks but left the game with a rib injury and didn’t return.
“The quarterbacks that will be participating today will get action and great opportunity, and will as the week progresses,” McDaniel said. “I think I’ll be sure to shout it from the top of a building when we know that … Skylar’s a very tough individual, but it’s how you’re able to do your job and with what effectiveness, and every day from the injury you get kind of a scope into what it could look like and how that can affect him.
“So, I’m really just balancing what he’s able to do and then with regard to the reps and what the other guys are doing, just trying to absolutely make the best decision for the football team.”
Thompson appeared to be a limited participant in Thursday’s practice based on the portion available to the media. Tyler Huntley and Tim Boyle split reps during individual position drills.
Boyle completed 7 of 9 passes for 79 yards in relief of Thompson last week while Huntley was listed as the team’s emergency quarterback after he was added from the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad earlier in the week.
McDaniel said he was “encouraged” by Huntley’s progress in learning the Dolphins’ offense, but didn’t discount Boyle’s performance against Seattle. Neither quarterback has been on the Dolphins’ roster for long; Boyle was signed to their practice squad shortly after initial 53-man rosters were completed.
Huntley, in his second week with the Dolphins, on Thursday compared learning McDaniel’s offense to riding a bike.
“It’s like riding a bike — first time, you’re a little iffy, you didn’t know how to pedal. Then you just start putting it all together, pedaling, going in a straight line, then after a while, you’re going to start standing up,” he said.
Huntley, who is from South Florida, was asked what it would mean to start Monday for his hometown team.
“That would be amazing, that’s just a child’s dream. Being able to play for your home team, man, that’s just something everybody doesn’t get to come across,” he said. “So, it would mean everything in the world, but I’m just here to help the team win.”
Despite their lack of experience in the building, McDaniel said it’s important for whoever is starting Monday to win over his teammates’ confidence.
“Your team has to believe in you. Well, where does that come from?” he said. “Well, it’s not all the reps that we’ve had throughout training camp, we weren’t there with them. There’s an unspoken, I don’t know, confidence and conviction that a person has to have where guys believe that regardless of how long they’ve played with him, that they have the components to do what each and every one of them need him to.
“It was really cool to watch the teammates of Tim’s and how he competed without blinking. And I just have a lot of regard for guys that just jump into a situation that isn’t for the faints of … I feel fortunate that the guys that we’ve added are boldly attacking it and not looking for any sort of excuse.”
