EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Dolphins rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson was talking about himself when he made the remark, but he could have been talking about fellow quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater, coach Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins organization, or even Dolphins fans. It applies to everyone.
“My world has changed quite a bit in three weeks,” Thompson said.
Indeed it has.
The Dolphins’ 40-17 loss to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday is on the backburner for now.
The Dolphins, who started the season red hot at 3-0 but are now 3-2, might have major quarterback problems for next Sunday’s Minnesota (4-1) game. Major. They might have to start their third-teamer, Thompson, while the first- and second-teamers, Tagovailoa and Bridgewater, respectively, are awaiting clearance out of the concussion protocol.
That’s no disrespect to Thompson, the seventh-round pick from Kansas State. He did his best Sunday in his NFL debut, which came after just one Dolphins offensive snap.
The issue is the Dolphins don’t know whether Tagovailoa or Bridgewater will be out of concussion protocol in time for the game.
Thompson, who finished 19 of 33 for 166 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, a lost fumble, and a 58.4 passer rating, might be the Dolphins’ starter against the Vikings out of necessity.
And quarterback Reid Sinnett, who was with the Dolphins as the No. 3 quarterback for about half of last season and was signed to the practice squad this past week, could be the backup.
It’s not ideal, especially for a Dolphins team with playoff aspirations.
McDaniel acknowledged Thompson, who wore the camouflage practice jersey Friday, a sign of having a good week of practice, had “a rough rookie outing.” But McDaniel also said Thompson wasn’t the reason the Dolphins lost.
McDaniel said it’d be fair to say the “wheels fell off” in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins struggled in all three phases — offense, defense and special teams — and the Jets scored 21 points to turn a narrow 19-17 lead into a commanding 40-17 victory.
Still, the quarterback concern is real.
Bridgewater was tackled in the end zone in the first quarter Sunday by Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner. In the process, Bridgewater’s head hit the ground. Hard. Bridgewater, who was flagged for intentional grounding on the play, which meant it was a safety, giving the Jets a 2-0 lead, rose to his feet somewhat slowly. Still, things seemed OK.
Then the new concussion protocol rules kicked in.
A spotter from the upstairs booth — spotters are different from the three unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants (UNC), one in the booth and one on each sideline — called down and apparently said Bridgewater showed signs of ataxia. That’s not the same as gross-motor instability, but enough to get NFL players on the so-called “no-go” list, which means they’re out of the game.
“He doesn’t have any [concussion] symptoms and he passed his evaluation,” McDaniel said of Bridgewater, “but he’ll be now, under the new regulations, in the concussion protocol moving forward.”
All of a sudden, after one play, and in the second game he was in uniform, the previous game at Cincinnati being the first, Thompson, the man who a small segment of fans thought should have started Sunday over Bridgewater, was the Dolphins’ quarterback.
“Definitely was a little bit to take in,” Thompson said. “It kind of took me a little bit to settle in there and take a deep breath and just relax and trust the work that I’ve put in up to this point.”
Curiously, Thompson might be a sidebar to the Dolphins’ quarterback situation at this particular moment.
The bigger questions are whether Tagovailoa, who was having a strong start to the season, or Bridgewater, the veteran, will return for the Minnesota game. And the next question is whether the Dolphins will change their game day strategy and now have three quarterbacks active for each game instead of two. The former might change before the latter.
“I think we’re comfortable having two quarterbacks on the game day roster,” McDaniel said, “so we’re going to have to kind of assess those situations, and we might have to make a move as a result. But we’ll just be working on that moving forward.”
Yes. The world has changed for Thompson, and the Dolphins.
