NFL insider suggests Dolphins could roll with dark-horse quarterback

With starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve for at least three more games and backup QB Skylar Thompson battling a chest injury, the Miami Dolphins have some difficult decisions to make heading into their “Monday Night Football” matchup with the Tennessee Titans this week.

Miami turned to journeyman Tim Boyle in this past Sunday's 24-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks after Thompson went down with his injury and while Boyle wasn’t terrible (7-for-13, 79 yards, 72.3 passer rating), the Dolphins are going to need more from their quarterback facing off against a Titans defense that ranks No. 3 against the pass and No. 5 overall.

While Miami could roll the dice with Boyle, ESPN’s Dan Graziano suggested on Wednesday Tyler Huntley could be a dark-horse option to start given how this week of practice goes.

“Yes, it's possible they start Tyler Huntley on Monday night, but that likely depends on Skylar Thompson's health,” Graziano wrote. “Huntley just got there last week, and while they like him and he has a shot to start at some point, the Dolphins would like to get Huntley some more practice reps in their offense before throwing him out there on the field. If Thompson can't go, then I think the coaches spend the week building some sort of scaled-down game plan based around what Huntley can do and start him over Tim Boyle.”

Huntley, a 2022 Pro Bowler (which was more of a pity honor than anything), played in five games for the Baltimore Ravens last season, passing for 203 yards and three touchdowns.

The 26-year-old signal-caller has nine games of starting experience under his belt and performed admirably while filling in for Lamar Jackson two seasons ago. That year, Huntley completed 67% of his passes for 658 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions while rushing for another 137 yards and a touchdown. He went 2-2 as a starter.

Given Huntley’s mobility, his game is a lot closer to Tagovailoa’s. If the Dolphins can get him comfortable running their offense this week, it would make much more sense to see what he can do against a stout Titans defense.