What Should Dolphins Do with Huntley?

Making sure they have a dependable backup quarterback will be among the highest priorities of the offseason for the Miami Dolphins, but at least one national writer thinks they already have the answer.

That answer, according to Nick Shook of NFL.com, is the quarterback who started the team's final two games of the 2024 season, Tyler Huntley.

Signed off the Baltimore Ravens practice squad in September after Tua Tagovailoa was placed on injured reserve, Huntley is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent March 12 when the 2025 league year kicks off, but Shook suggests the Dolphins re-sign Huntley before then, putting him among his six quarterbacks whose teams should not let them hit the free agent market.

"Miami has paid dearly for failing to have an adequate backup plan behind Tua Tagovailoa, sending Skylar Thompson out for a playoff game in the 2022 season and turning back to him in 2024 after Tagovailoa's latest concussion forced him out of action for a month," Shook wrote. "Thompson didn't last a full game this time around before being replaced by Tim Boyle. Huntley's first appearance wasn't great, either, but by the time a hip injury forced Tagovailoa out late in the season, after Huntley was given time to digest Mike McDaniel's offense, the former Pro Bowl quarterback proved capable of handling the job. Huntley even led the Dolphins to a road win over the Browns before losing the regular-season finale. He's done this before, replacing Lamar Jackson in Baltimore and keeping the offense afloat. Simply put, he should be Miami's backup in 2025. It's the smart move."

EVALUATING HUNTLEY AS THE BACKUP PLAN

Huntley ended up starting five games for the Dolphins this season, three early in the season when Tagovailoa was on IR and the final two when Tagovailoa was sidelined by a hip injury.

While some allowances need to be made for the early starts because he was new to the team and the offensive scheme, the reality is that Huntley had a good game against the Cleveland Browns in Week 17, a good second half against the Jets in the season finale but a lot of struggles outside of that.

The final passing numbers — three touchdowns, three interceptions, 80.1 passer rating — weren't pretty, though it needs to be mentioned that Huntley's scrambling ability provided a dimension the offense doesn't really have with Tua behind center.

Huntley easily was the best of the non-Tua quarterbacks employed in 2024, a clear level (if not two) above the aforementioned Thompson and Boyle, but it says here the Dolphins should aim higher if the hope is to return to the playoffs and make a deep push.

The offense clearly won't be the same with a backup quarterback when the starter gets all the practice reps in a system based on timing and quick throws, but there can't be the kind of drop-off we saw from Week 3-7 last season.

At the very least, the Dolphins should try to land a more established veteran quarterback among those who will be available in free agency this offseason, whether it be Marcus Mariota, Andy Dalton, Jimmy Garoppolo, Carson Wentz or Joe Flacco.

The Dolphins absolutely should re-sign Huntley because the price figures to be right — remember, he was on a practice squad before the Dolphins picked him up last year — and then he could compete for the No. 2 job or serve as the third quarterback if Miami decided to go back to carrying three on the 53-man roster.

Being involved in a two-way battle actually would be an improvement for Huntley from last summer when he was one of three QBs (along with Jameis Winston and Dorian Thompson-Robinson) battling for roster spots behind Deshaun Watson in Cleveland.

The bottom line is that from this vantage point Huntley performed well enough to earn another look from the Dolphins, but not well enough that he automatically should be handed the No. 2 quarterback job.