Jan. 7 (UPI) — The Miami Dolphins plan an all-out search to build depth in their quarterbacks room behind starter Tua Tagovailoa, general manager Chris Grier said Tuesday.
“It will be a position that we will focus on this offseason,” Grier said during a news conference while seated next to coach Mike McDaniel.
“Every stone will be unturned at that position, including in the [NFL] Draft.”
A lack of capable supporting options on their roster doomed the Dolphins earlier this year when Tagovailoa missed four games because of the third documented concussion of his NFL career. He then missed the Dolphins’ final two games because of a hip injury.
The Dolphins went 2-4 without Tagovailoa and finished the season 8-9, narrowly missing the playoffs. McDaniel’s offense, which led the NFL in yards and finished second in points in 2023, finished 18th and 22nd, respectively, in those categories a year later.
Tagovailoa threw for an NFL-high 4,624 yards and 29 scores in 17 starts in 2023, answering critics’ concerns about his inability to stay healthy for a full season.
He earned Pro Bowl honors — in addition to a $212.4 million contract extension — after that season.
Grier said the Dolphins spoke to several “top-flight” backup quarterbacks last offseason and were “runner-ups” for signing them. He cited “financial restraints” and potential losses of compensatory picks as reasons they didn’t land any.
instead, they went into the season with Skylar Thompson — who beat Mike White in a competition for backup honors — joining Tagovailoa,
Tagovailoa and the Dolphins beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1. Disaster struck during their Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills when Tagovailoa, who sustained a concussion in the Sept. 12 setback, missed the next four games as the Dolphins’ season spiraled downward.
Tagovailoa eventually returned and helped carry the Dolphins back into contention, finishing the year with 2,867 yards and 19 scores over 11 starts.
Grier praised Tagovailoa’s growth as a leader, but conceded he needs to better protect himself by avoiding unnecessary hits.
“He needs to be available,” Grier said of Tagovailoa. “He needs to know how to protect himself. You are going to get hit at times. It’s always going to happen, but he needs to control what he can control. He understands that.
“Not being available for taking chances and risks is unacceptable to us. He knows that.”
McDaniel expressed similar sentiments in November, but Tagovailoa later said that it was “too hard to protect” himself when he is trying to make plays. Grier said Tagovailoa’s absences this season reinforced the need for him to “live for the next play.”
“Throw the ball away,” Grier said. “You don’t have to run around and be Superman. Live for the next play. He has told Mike and I that he understands that clearly.”
Grier said that the Dolphins have “no concern at all” for Tagovailoa’s hip issue entering the off-season, and he is “very excited” about the quarterback’s future.
“Every year, you can see growth in everything he does,” Grier said. “He can still ascend, which is kinda weird for a quarterback who has played as much as he has and won as many games as he has.
“He knows how important he is to these guys and they’ve told him. Again, its his availability of controlling what he can control.”
Grier also said that star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who implied he could leave the Dolphins this off-season, did not ask him for a trade when they met Monday. Hill, who played through a wrist injury, is under contract for the next two seasons.
“Mike and I both had conversations with Tyreek here yesterday — productive conversations,” Grier said. “I will keep those between us. The one thing I will say, is that in a frustrating season, he was very emotional.
“In a game where we had a chance, [we came back] from 2-6. That’s probably the thing I’m most proud of the players and Mike and the coaching staff for — that we were 2-6 and we are playing in Week 18 to potentially sneak in the playoffs. I think all of that, with [Hill] playing through his injury, just kinda bubbled to a point.”
The Dolphins, who haven’t won a playoff game since 2000, have the No. 13 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft
