Miami Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill joked about the team’s lack of depth at the quarterback position right now.
Tyreek cracked that the Dolphins are in the process of looking "for anyone that can throw" and they're taking "open applications."
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) September 26, 2024
The injury bug has depleted Miami’s depth at the all-important position. Firstly, Tua Tagovailoa — who led the NFL in total passing yards in the 2023 regular season — is on injured reserve with a head injury. And it will be some time before he makes his return to the lineup, as he isn’t eligible to take the field until Miami’s game against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 27.
To make matters worse for the Dolphins’ quarterback situation, Skylar Thompson suffered a chest injury in his first start of the season against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 22, and footage from Thursday’s practice suggests he’s still dealing with some pain.
Dolphins QB Skylar Thompson was at practice, but looked labored and was seemingly in pain.
He needed help putting on his jersey.
Very slim odds he’s playing on Monday unless ribs miraculously heal. pic.twitter.com/URk88sev1B
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) September 26, 2024
All signs pointing to Tyler Huntley starting at quarterback in Miami’s next regular-season contest against the Tennessee Titans at the start of next week. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported that the 26-year-old is the favorite to get the starting nod from Mike McDaniel.
The collective view in our Dolphins media room here in Miami Gardens is that Tyler Huntley is the favorite to start Monday, unless the coaches don't like what they see in terms of grasp of offense, etc., over next three days.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) September 26, 2024
While Huntley is a talented signal-caller who has even made a Pro Bowl appearance, it’s important to note that he has gone nearly a year without playing in a regular-season NFL game.
The last time Huntley saw action in the regular season came in the Baltimore Ravens’ final game of the campaign against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 6. He got the start for the Ravens and finished with 146 passing yards and one passing touchdown without throwing a single interception in a game Baltimore lost by seven points.
If Huntley does indeed start for the Dolphins on Monday, Miami seemingly would have a lot riding on the hope that he will be able to answer the call and lead the Dolphins to a victory.
The Dolphins entered the season with playoff expectations, but it’s unclear if those expectations are realistic now. Certainly, if the Dolphins can’t beat one of the few teams in the NFL with a winless record on Sept. 30, that would not bode well for Miami’s chances of making the playoffs.
