Skylar Staying Focused ... And Ready
Skylar Thompson became something of a. cult hero for Miami Dolphins fans after his brilliant performance in the 2022 preseason, to the point where there have been calls on social media for him to start with Tua Tagovailoa sidelined with a concussion.
But the Dolphins will be going — as they should, as we'll explain later — with veteran Teddy Bridgewater as their starter against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday while Thompson continues to do what he's done since he arrived as a seventh-round pick out of Kansas State in the 2022 NFL draft.
And if it turns out Thompson is needed against the Jets or in a future game, there's every reason to believe he'll be ready to perform.
"One thing that you noticed about Skylar early on is how mature and professional his approach has been from really day one," offensive coordinator Frank Smith said Thursday. "And even though he was the third quarterback, I mean, you saw an approach that was really, in many ways very veteran. I mean, taking the mental reps, putting himself in the play every moment. And then now it's just an extension of that preparation.
"You could just see that intensity to his, honestly, our word around here 'your deliberate practice' to what he was doing, it was really great to see a rookie with that intensity. So as he was doing scout team work now elevating up, I think that it's just an extension of his preparation, and now you're seeing him take that into actual practice reps. So overall, like in preseason, we've been very pleased with what Skylar has been able to do. And we know that he'll be ready, and his teammates will be ready, because he'll show up because the way he's prepared through everything."
After being inactive for the first three games, Thompson dressed for a regular season game for the first time for the Week 4 Thursday night game at Cincinnati after starter Tua Tagovailoa had been listed as questionable with the back injury he sustained against Buffalo four days earlier.
When Tagovailoa was sidelined with a concussion late in the second quarter, Thompson moved to one play away from his first NFL regular season snaps.
"It was exciting," Thompson told reporters of being active for the first time. "Big moment, First moment being able to put a jersey on.during the season. It was a cool moment for me and my family. Other than jersey on and getting to do some warmups, it didn't feel a ton different from what I've been doing from the mind-set I've had."
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THOMPSON AND HIS NON-ROOKIE DEMEANOR
The one thing about Thompson that's been obvious from the start is that he's not a typical rookie quarterback, which probably makes sense considering he turned 25 in June and actually is older than Tua, who's in his third NFL season.
The moment never looked too big for Thompson at any stage of training camp, and certainly not in the preseason.
In fact, Thompson was so good during his preseason appearances that he gave the Dolphins no choice but to keep him on the 53-player roster because the obvious potential he showed in the summer would have made highly unlikely he would have cleared waivers.
But the preseason and the regular season are different animals, and young quarterbacks can get overwhelmed with different looks and disguises opposing defenses throw at them early in their career, which is not something they have to face in the preseason.
That's why it's the smart move for the Dolphins to go with Bridgewater against the Jets, Besides, the Dolphins gave Bridgewater a fully guaranteed $6.5 million contract for 2022 for a reason, and that's to keep the offense humming as smoothly as possible while Tua is out.
That, however, does not sit well with a portion of fans who were wowed by Thompson's preseason work and also may be less than thrilled about Bridgewater's skill set and/or credentials.
Thompson, for his part, isn't about to let himself get caught up in whatever fervor there is for him to start in Tua's absence.
"Everybody has their opinion on whatever," Thompson said. "All of that is white noise to me. I'm just focused on what Ive focused on since the day I got here - getting better every day and putting myself in position to help the team win, whether that's me on the field or at practice, helping a guy out with a play. My focus has been the same since I got here. just because a couple things changed doesn't mean I'm going to change."
The way Thompson looks at it, nothing has changed over the past 10 days in terms of what he needs to do; he's just closer to getting into game action.
And when that time comes, whenever that might be, he'll be ready.
"I feel very prepared. it goes back to the way I've approached it since the season started, preparing like I'm the starter each week," he said. "Sticking to my weekly routine and what I've been doing and trusting my preparation.
"It's an exciting time, but my role here is to help support Teddy. He's the starter. I've looked up to Teddy since the moment I got in this locker room. Whatever I can do to help the team is what I'm going to do and I'm excited for that."
