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The Miami Dolphins have seemingly made their decision regarding the team's backup quarterback battle to be behind star signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa in the depth chart. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Dolphins have cut quarterback Mike White after serving as the backup the season prior.
With the position battle being a main focus for Miami, this opens up the clear pathway for Skylar Thompson to be in that role for the 2024 season in Miami after he impressed in the preseason finale, despite the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 24-14. Thompson completed 19 of 27 passes for 190 yards to go with two touchdowns and an interception while White completed five of nine passes for 37 yards in a small sample size.
Due to the limited playing time, some were thinking that the Dolphins were keeping White fresh in the decision to make him the backup as he was last season with Thompson given more time to prove himself. It turned out to not be the case as with the decision to cut White, Miami saves $3.5 million towards their cap space according to David Furones of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Mike McDaniel's assessment of Mike White with the Dolphins
The Dolphins originally acquired White via free agency last offseason after some impressive outings with the New York Jets playing in four games for the AFC East rival where he threw for 1,192 yards with three touchdowns and four picks. After the preseason finale for the Dolphins, head coach Mike McDaniel who coached the first half said that White “did a good job” after what would be his final playing time in a Miami uniform according to the team's transcripts page.
“I think he faced some challenging situations,” McDaniel said. “I thought he did a good job getting the team in and out of the huddle and played clean in that way, I think there [are] some opportunities – I have to look at the tape – that he was in there against their starters and competed and did some things that I was happy with, that we’ve been emphasizing. But before being able to say the extent to which both guys completely played, I’ll have to watch the tape first.”
Dolphins QB2 now solidified
If fans are looking at the semantics, they might have predicted Thompson to be the backup quarterback to open the season. As while White did a “good job” in McDaniel's words, Thompson “did a great job” and talked in depth about his development with the Dolphins since being drafted with the 247th overall pick in 2022.
“I think Skylar did a great job tonight,” McDaniel said. “I think in terms of – we have a lot of information to take in. I’m not in any position to name [a] 53-man roster or backup quarterbacks or anything. I thought that he was competitive and made some plays and kind of got us going tonight.”
At any rate, White would play one season for the Dolphins where in the regular season, was in six games where he only threw for 74 yards since Tagovailoa played the full season despite his injury history. Whether the team adds to the quarterback room remains to be seen since it's just Tagovailoa and Thompson as they face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1 on Sunday, Sept. 8.
