Roughly two weeks after signing Tyler Huntley, the Miami Dolphins will start him at quarterback for their Week 4 Monday night matchup with the Tennessee Titans. Miami head coach Mike McDaniel announced the decision on Saturday.
Miami signed the former Pro Bowler off the Baltimore Ravens‘ practice squad after Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion during its Week 2 game versus the Buffalo Bills and was eventually placed on injured reserve.
Huntley was the Dolphins’ emergency QB for their Week 3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks with Skyler Thompson starting and Tim Boyle backing him up. Thompson was knocked out of the game in the third quarter after taking three hard hits to the torso area and was eventually diagnosed with a chest injury.
Boyle threw for 79 yards on 7-of-13 passing after taking over. Before leaving the game, Thompson threw for 107 yards while completing 13 of 19 passes.
Huntley, a South Florida native, has started nine games in his four NFL seasons, four each during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Overall, he’s completed 65% of his passes for 1,957 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions, while also rushing for 509 yards and three scores.
His performance in 2022 — completing 67% of his passes for 658 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions — earned him Pro Bowl honors. That experience evidently helped him pick up the Dolphins’ offense quickly and influenced McDaniel’s decision.
“One thing that has been supremely obvious to the team since he got here, and even more so this practice week, is that he started multiple and many big games,” McDaniel told reporters, via the Miami Herald. “Just understanding as a quarterback exactly what is required to win over teammates, take the place of somebody else and assert their own personality, their own skill set and their own traits within the offense and lead people.”
Thompson could possibly be the team’s emergency QB against the Titans, McDaniel said. But Boyle will back up Huntley on Monday.
Miami will be without starting left tackle Terron Armstead and cornerback Kendall Fuller for Week 4, with both players in concussion protocol. Additionally, running back Raheem Mostert‘s availability with a chest injury is uncertain, while linebacker David Long Jr. is expected to be a game-time decision with a hamstring injury.