Dolphins pick White over Thompson to be QB2

Marcel Louis-Jacques, ESPNSep 4, 2023, 01:11 PM ET
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MIAMI — The Dolphins named Mike White as their backup quarterback, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday, after a monthslong competition with Skylar Thompson.

On four occasions last season, the Dolphins were forced to turn to a backup quarterback after their starter was knocked out of a game. They signed White to a two-year, $8 million contract this offseason with $4.5 million guaranteed to operate as the primary backup to Tua Tagovailoa and he competed with the 2022 seventh-round pick Thompson throughout the summer for the job.

Since becoming the Dolphins’ starter during the 2020 season, Tagovailoa has yet to play a full season because of injuries, appearing in 13 games each of the past two years. Last season, Tagovailoa was sidelined by two diagnosed concussions, but he bulked up his frame this offseason and took jiu-jitsu classes to prepare him better to protect himself when he falls to the ground.

“We learned the hard way that you need available players on a roster just in general,” McDaniel said. “I thought Mike White and Skylar competed all the way until the last rep. … To be able to understand our system in such a short period of time like Mike White did, and the command that he exudes in the huddle … relying on Mike White’s veteran experience and really all the growth he had this offseason made me feel pretty comfortable with that.”

White made seven starts for the New York Jets over the past two seasons, completing 62.2% of his passes for 1,943 yards and 7 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He turned in explosive starts against the Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears in 2021 and 2022, respectively, throwing for a combined 720 yards and six touchdowns against two interceptions.

Thompson started three games as a rookie last season, including a playoff-clinching win over the Jets and the Dolphins’ wild-card loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The NFL introduced a new rule this season that allows for an emergency third quarterback if he is a member of the 53-man roster. McDaniel said all three quarterbacks are expected to be active throughout the year.

“It’s a very close room,” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said. “The three of them get along extremely well. They support each other, they push each other, they communicate well with each other. I think that’s a big part of it. I think Mike has done a good job operating the offense, as well as Skylar. I think some of the familiarity with, obviously, Skylar helps being here. This is his second year in the system.

“But Mike’s done a nice job coming in here as well and supporting Tua. So, for us, we thought it was the right group to keep those three.”

In other roster moves, Miami signed wide receiver Robbie Chosen to its practice squad, releasing defensive end Randy Charlton. Chosen spent the offseason with the Dolphins after signing a one-year deal as a free agent but was released during final roster cuts last week.