Why the Backup QB Explanation Doesn't Wash

Miami Dolphins GM Chris Grier explained why the team didn't upgrade the No. 2 QB spot in the offseason

Los Angeles Rams Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (11) throws for a reception at SoFi Stadium as the Seattle Seahawks face off versus Los Angeles Rams Week 18 matchup. / William Navarro-Imagn Images

There are a lot of reasons the Miami Dolphins' 2024 season went south, but probably nothing will ever stand out more — fair or not — than the substandard quarterback play the team got during Tua Tagovailoa's stint on injured reserve early in the season.

And maybe nothing will stand out more in terms of organizational failure than the decision to run it back with Mike White and Skylar Thompson competing for the backup quarterback spot and eventually going with the latter, particularly after he was demoted after being injured, eventually cut from the 53-man roster, and then not even re-signed to a future contract after the season ended.

GM Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel have to answer for that, and Grier offered his explanation on the matter Tuesday.

It came up short on a couple of levels.

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WHAT GRIER SAID ABOUT THE BACKUP QB DECISION

Let's first take care of what Grier said about the issue before we break it down and explain just how badly the Dolphins handled this.

Here was Grier's answer to how he would evaluate the play of the backup quarterbacks and how he will approach the position in the offseason given Tagovailoa's injuries:

“That’s a good question. With us, obviously we had drafted Skylar here three years ago, and he started the playoff game and almost beat Buffalo on the road, we lost 34-31. We beat the Jets to get into the playoffs. Then just watching him work through the following year, which he never got a chance because Tua stayed healthy and played the entire season, so we were excited about him and his growth, and the players believed in him. He won the backup job through the spring.

"But that said, as we always do throughout the entire offseason, and Mike (McDaniel) and Steve (Ross) are aware of it through it, we were in on a number of topflight backup quarterbacks in the league. We were runner-ups for a couple of them that we wanted to get here, and for some financial restraints and compensatory pick stuff, we just couldn’t go to those, to the prices. But all of those guys wanted to come here. It’s a position we do not take lightly. We were working through that the entire offseason, and the fact that some of those guys were willing to come here at what we could pay them shows in how they believe in Mike, the staff and the offensive scheme, and the players that are here. They’re all excited about our skill group.

"That’s a position we will always focus on, and it will be a position that we will focus on this offseason. I will tell you that every stone will be unturned at that position, including the draft.”

BREAKING DOWN GRIER'S RESPONSE

We'll start with the last statement first, about Grier's promise to explore all avenues in the offseason, including the draft.

To that we say, good.

We also say, one year too late.

Because ...

If Grier is going to bring up Thompson helping the Dolphins defeat the New York Jets in the 2022 season finale to clinch the final AFC playoff spot and then his performance in the playoff game at Buffalo when the Dolphins did lose 34-31, that requires some context.

First, the Dolphins defeated the Jets 11-6, and they won because Jason Sanders kicked a clutch field goal in the final minute of regulation and the defense handled a putrid Jets offense the way it was supposed to. Thompson had very little, if anything to do, with that victory.

And in the playoff game against the Bills, Thompson completed 40 percent of his passes and had a passer rating of 44.7. The Dolphins scored 31 points because they got a defensive touchdown (fumble return by Zach Sieler), a 50-yard punt return, and two interceptions. They scored 14 points in the final 2:15 of the first half on three drives (field goal, field goal, touchdown plus two-point conversion) that COMBINED for 44 yards.

We made the case that Thompson's performance in that game wasn't as bad as his stats would suggest, but that's not to say it was good.

And it certainly wasn't good enough, particularly after he didn't play a down in 2023 after losing the backup job to White, to not bring in a better option.

And that brings us to the final point, about Grier saying the Dolphins did try to sign a more established quarterback to back up Tagovailoa but weren't successful because of "financial restraints" and an unwillingness to jeopardize their compensatory pick position.

As it stands today, the Dolphins are scheduled to get three compensatory picks in the 2025 draft as the result of net free agency losses last spring.

But, according to overthecap.com, the expected third-round pick for the loss of Christian Wilkins now has fallen to a fourth-round selection because he wasn't able to add to the financial value of his free agent deal with playing time and postseason accolades bonus points — based on the very complicated formula — to go along with an expected third-round pick for losing Robert Hunt and a seventh-round pick for losing DeShon Elliott (other free agent signings and depart

Other free agents signings and departures canceled each other out, and that's what would have happened had the Dolphins signed a quarterback who would qualify as a compensatory free agent.

And based on the contracts signed by veteran free agent quarterbacks in the offseason, what the compensatory pick cost for adding a, say, Jimmy Garoppolo, Marcus Mariota or Joe Flacco, would have been the fourth-round pick for Christian Wilkins.

And this is where we ask everyone to name the last Dolphins fourth-round pick to become an impact player, say, someone who could make an impact similar to a good backup quarterback. Lamar Miller in 2012? Brian Hartline in 2009?

Yeah, seems like surrendering a 2025 fourth-round pick for a better backup quarterback option would have been the better play.

The Dolphins ended the 2024 season with $18 million in cap space, per spotrac.com, so the cap wasn't the obstacle there. And we know "financial restraints" wasn't about Stephen Ross being unwilling to spend because you can say whatever you want about the Dolphins owner but being unwilling to spend isn't one of them.

So it basically was about the belief in Thompson combined with the reluctance to squander one of those compensatory draft picks that came into play.

Add it all up and from here it means one thing was missing from Grier's answer: We messed up.