Former Kansas State Wildcat Skylar Thompson had not seen an NFL field since the 2022 AFC Wild Card game with the Miami Dolphins when he had to be the starter for the injured Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater. Now two years later, Thompson was named the backup quarterback for Tagovailoa and probably didn't know whether or not he would see the field.
With the Dolphins behind division rival Buffalo Bills 31-10, Tagovailoa was scrambling for the first down near the end of the third quarter when he dove head-first into Bills safety Damar Hamlin and took a hard shot. The former Alabama quarterback stayed on the ground and physically did not look good as the Dolphin's medical staff ran out onto the field.
Tagovailoa was able to walk off the field under his own power and back into the locker room, but after a short amount of time, it was announced that the Dolphins starter was ruled out with a concussion, his third official one in the last three seasons.
Concussions are a rough part of Tagovailoa's professional career and getting another one tonight leaves things unknown for the rest of the season.
If that is the case, Thompson could be the starter for the Dolphins going forward just in his third season in the NFL. Thompson had a tough obstacle to overcome with a 21-point deficit and a couple of injuries to the Dolphins' offensive line.
Thompson started out handing the ball off a lot, but with the Dolphins' receivers not able to get a lot of separation all night long, it became that much harder with a young backup in the game. For a young signal caller though, Thompson's reads look good for what was dealt to him.
The Dolphins ended up losing the game 31-10 with Thompson finishing the game 8-for14 with 80 passing yards and no touchdown passes, but no interceptions either. It is probably safe to say that Thompson has not gotten a lot of reps with the starters in practice and if he is going to be the starter going forward, even if it is just for next week, he should start to get those reps.
Thompson is still a young player in this league and he is a moldable player who is athletic and can scramble when under pressure. With the way the offensive line looks for the Dolphins right now, if Thompson is the starter going forward, he will probably be showing a lot of those skills.