Miami Dolphins: How will backup quarterback battle shake out?
The Miami Dolphins have three quarterbacks behind Ryan Tannehill who all have names fans will notice right away. So, how will things play out for the backups?
We already know Ryan Tannehill is locked in as the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback for 2018. However, there is plenty debate behind who should be the backup. The top candidates are David Fales, Brock Osweiler and Bryce Petty.
Miami fans surely know Fales by this point, while Osweiler and Petty are names that will stand out to most fans, for better or worse. One of these guys will most likely be the primary backup, but they can’t all make the team.
Following OTAs, all signs currently point to Fales being the standout of the trio so far this offseason. Most reports point to him as being the best option on the practice field and even pushing Tannehill at times. Surely that doesn’t lock him in to the backup role, but he definitely has a leg up at the moment.
We have seen him look good in non-regular season games before and we’ve also seen him play in real games both in Chicago and Miami. He hasn’t looked great in real games, to be sure. However, I believe he will make the roster and will ultimately open the season as the backup. With that said, if he does get a shot to play, I’m not so sure he will succeed or hold the job for long.
With Fales likely locked into a roster spot, that leaves Osweiler and Petty for the final quarterback roster spot — assuming the team decides to keep three quarterbacks. Personally I think both guys are pretty terrible, but what do you expect from a third-string quarterback? Still, I would rather see the team hold on to Petty as he has more potential upside in my eyes.
Unfortunately, head coach Adam Gase seems to be a bit bias to players he’s coached in the past. We’ve seen him give a ton of looks at former Broncos and Bears during his short tenure in Miami. This leads me to believe he could lean the way of rostering Osweiler. We will likely hear that he knows the system and the two are familiar.
The one thing I will give him though is that Osweiler looked significantly better under Gase than he has at any other point in his career. In 2015 when he replaced a horrifyingly bad Peyton Manning, Osweiler managed to complete 61.8 percent of his passes with a 10-6 TD-INT ratio while averaging 7.15 yards per attempt. Those numbers aren’t incredible by any means, but are serviceable for a backup or third-stringer.
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It looks to me like Fales is locked into a roster spot and will kick off 2018 as the primary backup to Tannehill. Osweiler’s history with Gase will likely earn him a roster spot as well. Petty will be the odd man out in Miami and looking for a new job by the time teams have to cut their rosters to 53 men.