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The Miami Dolphins’ quarterback room remains incomplete, and re-signing Tyler Huntley may no longer be part of the picture.
Huntley, who started five games with the Dolphins last season, worked out for the Arizona Cardinals on Friday. Given the need for a game-day emergency quarterback behind Tua Tagovailoa and Zach Wilson, Huntley could’ve been a sound third-string option after completing nearly 65% of his passes last season.
After spending four years with the Baltimore Ravens, Huntley had to adjust quickly in Miami after the Dolphins signed him off Baltimore’s practice squad September 16. He started 14 days later, completing 14 of 22 attempts for 96 yards and a rushing touchdown while being sacked twice in a 31-12 loss against the Tennessee Titans.
Huntley helped the Dolphins defeat the New England Patriots the following week when he completed 18 of 31 attempts for 194 yards in a 15-10 victory. His five starts last season were the most of his five-year career, and the Dolphins were 2-3 in those games.
While Huntley’s running ability forced defenses to prepare for a different element, the 2022 Pro Bowl selection struggled to find his rhythm in Mike McDaniel’s quick-strike offense. Not only did Miami average only 15 points per game with him behind center, but he was sacked 15 times and fumbled the ball six times.
Depth at QB: Where Miami Might Turn
Huntley did outperform Skylar Thompson and Tim Boyle, who completed 36 of 59 combined attempts for 340 yards and zero touchdowns. That said, Miami’s inability to develop quarterback depth played into the team’s failures last season.
The Dolphins could do worse than re-signing Huntley, but with $16 million in cap space and 10 draft picks, they may be searching for a better scheme fit.
The list of available free agent quarterbacks is quickly thinning out, but one option could be a player they had on their practice squad for two weeks last season, C.J. Beathard.
The 32-year-old Beathard's time with the Dolphins was brief because the Jacksonville Jaguars poached him off the practice squad. He has started just 13 games over his six-year career — 12 came in the San Francisco 49ers while McDaniel was the run game coordinator. He’s since started one game for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023, completing 40 of 53 attempts for 349 yards and a touchdown in a 26-0 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Despite a 3-10 record as a starter, Beathard’s familiarity with McDaniel’s scheme could be a deciding factor this late in the offseason.
Another long-shot emergency option is journeyman Carson Wentz, who’s bounced between the Colts, Commanders, Rams and Chiefs after five seasons with the Eagles. The second overall pick in the 2016 draft, Wentz is may be holding out for a clearer path to playing time after appearing in 13 games over the last three seasons, but that stance could change over the offseason.
With seven draft picks in rounds 4 through 7, the Dolphins could be waiting to see how the board falls in hopes of landing a developmental quarterback who can learn behind Tagovailoa and Wilson. Syracuse’s Kyle McCord, Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard, and Texas’s Quinn Ewers are some names who could be available if Miami decides to invest in a mid-round quarterback.
Ultimately, the Dolphins hope 2025 marks just the second time Tagovailoa is available for all 17 games. On top of that, the Dolphins pursued Wilson early in free agency, signing him to a $6 million deal to serve as the fall-back option in case Tagovailoa can't go.
More Miami Dolphins Coverage:
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TODAY'S BEST
Raiders staff 'changed their mind' on Jackson Powers-Johnson
First-year head coach Pete Carroll is tinkering with the Las Vegas Raiders' offensive line early in training camp. On Tuesday, second-year offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson was moved to the second-team unit at center, with Jordan Meredith handling the first-team reps, per Tashan Reed of The Athletic. On Thursday, Powers-Johnson was moved to the first-team right guard. The Raiders initially wanted Powers-Johnson to play at center in the upcoming season, but "changed their mind" when they released veteran Andre James in March. "Powers-Johnson started games at guard last year, but the intent was for him to lock in on center after the team released Andre James this offseason," Reed wrote. "That was the case through OTAs, but the staff changed their mind once training camp got rolling. "According to coach Pete Carroll, the logic is Meredith is too small to play guard but holds up well at center. They signed Alex Cappa to start at right guard, but Powers-Johnson is a superior option there." Meredith, a six-foot-two, 300-pound athlete, is decidedly much smaller than the six-foot-three, 328-pound Powers-Johnson. Carroll believes the competition between Meredith and Powers-Johnson this summer will ultimately make the team better. "It's the heart of everything," Carroll told reporters on Thursday regarding the battle at center between Meredith and Powers-Johnson, via video from Taylor Rocha. "These guys are battling for their playing time... JPJ is working his tail off, and both those guys are battling, so it just makes us better." It's hard to see the Raiders benching Powers-Johnson if Meredith earns the starting center job. He should at least earn the starting right guard job after he made the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2024. He is too talented not to start for Las Vegas.
Notre Dame quarterback race takes surprising turn
The Fighting Irish opened up training camp at the LeBar Football Practice Fields in Indiana on Thursday, marking the first day of Notre Dame's quarterback competition between Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr. The team is searching for former QB Riley Leonard's replacement before they travel to play Miami on Aug. 30. Per The Athletic's Pete Sampson, Minchey earned first-team reps while Carr threw three interceptions during the first practice of the summer. Minchey getting the majority of first-team reps might come as a surprise to many fans who thought Carr was expected to run away with the starting job. Earlier this month, ESPN's Mark Schlabach named Carr the Irish's "X factor" heading into the season. Given his three interceptions in practice on Thursday, the freshman has much to prove before he can take away the starting gig from Minchey. Minchey didn't blow anyone away with his play on Thursday either. However, the sophomore might have done enough to continue with the first-team offense until Carr stops creating turnovers. Minchey might be head coach Marcus Freeman's desired starter for the upcoming season. In May, Freeman told Sampson that the coaching staff was looking to design the third-down offense around Minchey before training camp. “I wanted to be like, ‘I like your book and all those things, and thanks for the compliments, but the reason we went for it on fourth down was because of the confidence we had in getting that first down.’” Freeman said via The Athletic. “And so, I sat with the offense and said, 'OK, Kenny Minchey isn’t the running quarterback that Riley Leonard was — how do we create that confidence in the head coach that we can sequence things on third down, knowing that we’re going to go for it on fourth down?'” For now, the job is Minchey's to lose.
Dodgers' Dave Roberts Shuts Down Reports of LA Trading Key Player
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a few hours left until the trade deadline. After landing a few prospects in a three-team deal with the Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays, and reuniting with Brock Stewart by way of the Minnesota Twins, there is still chatter among the baseball world as to what the Dodgers will do next. Recently graduated top prospect Dalton Rushing has established himself as the new backup catcher for the defending champions after being called up in May, and LA parting ways with longtime backstop Austin Barnes. With the rumor mill churning like never before, the 24-year-old catcher was linked to a few contenders ahead of this exciting deadline. Manager Dave Roberts recently spoke on Rushing being involved in these rumors and what he thinks will happen to the backstop. "I just don’t see a world in which he’s moved anyway and I think he’s smart enough to realize that," Roberts said. Rushing was raking in Triple-A Oklahoma City this year, batting .308/.424/.514 with a .938 OPS across 31 games. He added five home runs and 17 RBIs during this time. With a clear need to bring up another strong bat, Barnes was designated for assignment and Rushing was called up. So far in his MLB debut, Rushing is hitting .200 with a .545 OPS through 29 games. Although his early struggles are common for recently called up prospects given the expectations and pressure on the young man, it is certainly not a sign that the Dodgers would look to trade him. Catching prospect Hunter Feduccia was flipped on Wednesday as a result of the Reds and Rays deal, further shrinking the catching depth in the Dodgers organization. Parting ways with Rushing before he has shown his fullest potential in the majors makes less sense as the days go on, and it doesn't look he will be in a different uniform beyond Aug 1.
Phillies' blockbuster trade just upped the pressure on Dodgers
The Philadelphia Phillies struck a deal to land a big bullpen arm in Jhoan Duran on Wednesday night, not only boosting their own relief corps but also putting more pressure on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both the Dodgers and Phillies had been linked to Duran, a right-hander who posted 12 saves along with a 2.01 ERA so far this season. However, it was Philadelphia that struck the pre-trade-deadline deal, bringing the 27-year-old on board in exchange for a pair of the franchise's top 10 prospects. Now the next move belongs to Los Angeles. Both the Phillies and Dodgers are expected to be among the teams competing for the National League title in October, but Los Angeles is in desperate need to reinforce its bullpen before that happens. Dodger relievers Tanner Scott, Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips and Brusdar Graterol have all spent time on the injured list this year, and the Los Angeles bullpen has suffered with their absences. Entering Wednesday's action, Dodgers relievers had posted a minus-3.4 Wins Above Average (WAA), placing Los Angeles 25th among MLB's 30 teams in that category. Additionally, Dodgers starters have thrown just 493.1 innings this year. That's the lowest number in MLB and makes Los Angeles the only MLB team to have their starters not cross the 500-inning threshold. With L.A. starters not going deep into the game and current Dodger relievers struggling with health and performance when called upon, it's clear that Duran would have been a big piece for the Dodgers to add to their personnel puzzle. With Duran heading to Philadelphia and Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase off the trading block after being the subject of an MLB investigation, the number of true impact relievers is dwindling ahead of Thursday's 6 p.m. (Eastern) MLB trade deadline. Minnesota's Griffin Jax is still a possibility, as is David Bednar from the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, the clock is ticking on the Dodgers to make a move ... and it will likely be a costly one in terms of prospects. In the wake of the Phillies claiming arguably the biggest bullpen prize of the trade deadline, Los Angeles can't afford to wait.
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