MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — There’s a yawning gap between the confidence in Skylar Thompson held by Miami Dolphins players and by their fans.
Outside of team HQ, there’s a sense among Dolphins doomers that the season is shot with Tua Tagovailoa out for at least the next four games.
But within the locker room, there’s faith that Tua’s backup can do more than tread water for however long Miami’s QB1 is out.
Can Skylar Thompson Deliver for Miami Dolphins?
“I would encourage anyone to press their ear to the locker room door if they could because you find out a lot about your team, about how people feel about other people in moments like this,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday, as his team began preparing for the Seattle Seahawks.
“And when I tell you that the confidence that the team has for Skylar (Thompson) is real and it’s earned, and it’s based upon thousands of hours that as a backup quarterback most people don’t see.
“I would say very motivated to do their jobs and the greatest compliment you could see – I don’t think it’s on anybody’s minds. I think they’re focused on doing right by their job, their opportunity, their teammates, and quite frankly, we are only what we commit to each other. If guys were deviating that way – this team with the captains and leadership council, I think if there was anybody wavering from that, they would be communicated with conviction and assertiveness.”
That’s a long way of saying the expectations haven’t changed internally. The Dolphins still intend to compete for the playoffs and more, even with Tagovailoa out at least a quarter of the season.
Skylar Thompson seems to get choked up a bit when talking about getting another chance to start pic.twitter.com/jkugeY8ndP
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) September 18, 2024
The faith Thompson’s teammates have in him was a big reason he won the QB2 training camp battle with Mike White. It was also a factor in the team’s decision not to make a run at bigger names like Tom Brady and Ryan Tannehill after Tua got hurt.
“Honestly, it’s probably one of the best compliments I could get,” said Thompson, who is making just his fourth NFL start Sunday (including playoffs). “One of my favorite parts about this game is going to play with the guys next to me. It’s been that way since I was a little kid, and I just find joy in going to battle with guys that I know have put so much into it to do their job.
“They’re relying on me to do my job; I’m relying on them to do theirs, and that’s for all 11 spots. I feel like that trust and continuity you build is special and for me, I want to make guys feel confident when I’m in there and we’re going to make plays, whatever that looks like.
“Just being able to instill that confidence in those guys and get them to believe. I think that stems from – anybody can go say, like, ‘Hey, believe in me.’ But you’ve got to do it with your actions and the way that you go about things, and I feel like that’s just the approach that I’ve taken is just controlling what I control, be a hard worker, be a great teammate and put the team first in every way, shape or form, and good things happen. So that’s really cool to hear.”