Well I must say, I figured we would know who would be the signal caller by now for the 2019 season. Personally, I thought it was going to be Tyrod Taylor, but surprisingly he decided backing up Phil Rivers was the way to go. I really can’t blame him or Bridgewater for scorning the Dolphins and taking the option to sit back and be backups behind all time greats. I’ve wrote many times that I’d love nothing more than to be a backup QB. Get paid really well, have no pressure on you, and if you do get in the game, no one really expects to much out of you. Not a bad way to go through life. Hopefully, this will be a lesson for some of you that many players look at pro sports as jobs like most of us do in our non-pro athlete lines of work. The thrill of victory and competition rarely outweighs easy money. Remember that.
But the question remains; who will be the 2019 Miami Dolphins starting QB? It’s obvious that the Dolphins aren’t willing to pay anyone that much to be a stop-gap player for them. It’s been reported that Bridgewater was looking for around 16-17m a year. That’s something that the Dolphins, with their current tanking rebuilding philosophy, aren’t going to entertain. Just look at their excellent display of doing nothing thus far in free agency. They’re clearly looking to go young and cheap anywhere they can and I really can’t fault them for it. If you’re going to lose and try and get your QB for the next 8 years+, you can’t sign any big names with big contracts. Not one.
To me, there are a few candidates still out there that I think the Dolphins will look to be their QB next year. Sadly, I don’t think they are really any that people want to see. But, fans need to wrap their little walnuts around the idea that next season is going to be a painful one. I’ve made peace with that and I suggest you do the same. Whoever the Dolphins have as their QB will be a guy who can be replaced after a few weeks of bad play and a younger guy put in their place unless it’s a high drafted rookie. That’s very important in the decision making process. Here’s who’s out there that I think are realistic options for the Dolphins, in no particular order.
Ryan Fitzpatrick
The guy has played for seemingly every franchise in the history of football regardless of era. Somehow, he’s never landed in Miami. Wouldn’t be surprised at all if Miami grabs him for a year. He showed last year, for the first month or so that he could still play at a high level, but eventually like how the Hulk has to turn back into Bruce Banner, Ryan Fitzpatrick will always return to his natural Ryan Fitzpatrick form.
Blake Bortles
This guy was a few minutes from playing a Super Bowl a few years ago. Think about that for a second. He played in Jacksonville and even though that Florida relationship shouldn’t matter, I feel that it does. We’ve seen him play well at times, so he might be axed by management because they might think he could catch fire and win games. But, we’ve mostly have seen Bortles throw checkdown after checkdown like he’s stuck in a life long Chad Pennington reenactment.
Osweiler, Fales, Falk
Realistically, I only see Luke Falk, who Miami acquired last year from the Titans, as being the only guy in this triumphant that they would let be the starter. Osweiler showed he could be serviceable at times but I don’t think even this new regime would let him open the year as the starter. Fales is to much of a question mark that has no perceived upside. But Falk has a little mystique that fans can trick themselves into thinking he’s a diamond in the rough. The team can sell that even if they really believe he’s nothing more than a backup in the league.
Ryan Tannehill
This would be the worst case scenario partly because I said there was no way that I thought he would still be on the team after June 1st but mostly because the majority of the fan base would be mortified to see #17 out there. He’s owed 26m next year and if he gets released after June 1st it will save themselves 18M towards the cap. We’ve all had enough of seeing Tannehill out there and I have to think that management understands that and doesn’t want to trot him out there especially at that price. A bigger downer I can’t think of if Tannehill is still the starter.
AJ McCarron
This is the most interesting of the guys out there because a few years ago, McCarron was thought of having starting QB talent. He showed flashed in Cincinnati, which prompted the Bills to trade for him a year ago. He never really played for Buffalo, got traded to the Raiders and never played there. I don’t hate McCarron because you can sign him for cheap and he might actually be good. You can sell that kind of low risk optimism to people. We really don’t know if he has real deal talent, so I’m curious to see if he does. Maybe the Dolphins sign him, he does real good and we could flip him for a 2nd-3rd round pick next year. Not crazy, unlikely, but possible.
Kyler Murray
I’d be very surprised if the Dolphins traded a ton of picks to the top of the draft, like the #1 spot which is where I think they would have to go to get him, to draft Kyler Murray. I know people got all tingly when it was reported that the Dolphins stayed and worked out Murray after his pro day yesterday in Oklahoma. Who knows how high the current regime and their ideology of going young and cheap truly views Murray? If you think he’s your franchise guy, you do everything you can to get him. If you have some doubt, you don’t do that. I’ve come around on Murray but giving away all the picks I know that they’ll have too is something I’m not sure I can do. Bringing in Murray would revitalize the fanbase and make Sundays must watch. That be cool to be a part of. I guess the easy answer is that we’ll find out next month.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Miami does something today with the future of the QB position, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it took until the draft for a decision. It’s important to really understand what the new regime of Ross, Grier and Flores are trying to do. They’re burning it all down and looking to plant new talent, but they’re aren’t looking for a harvest until 2020 and beyond. Like I said, it’s going to be painful to watch on Sundays and we’re going to get lambasted by all our friends. But, I think the juice is worth the squeeze here.
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