Kelly: Ten QBs who are realistic options for the Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are actively shopping for another quarterback and will sign or trade for one in the coming days.

At this point, with Tua Tagovailoa’s status and timetable on his return being one of NFL’s great mysteries following the concussion he suffered in Thursday’s 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the caliber and lengths this team will go to acquire said quarterback is unknown. And probably up for debate.

Miami can go three routes when it comes to filling the void Tagovailoa’s absence creates.

The Dolphins can use resources - money and draft picks - to obtain a former NFL starter, either through trade or salesmanship.

If Miami’s confident in Skylar Thompson’s ability to stabilize the ship in Tagovailoa’s absence, the team can poach a quarterback off another team’s practice squad to serve as his backup.

And Miami can go acorn hunting, seeking a young developmental quarterback who is likely unemployed, a player they can invest in on the practice squad as competition for Tim Boyle, who was added two three weeks ago.

Here’s the options in each of those categories:

▪ Jimmy Garoppolo - trade with the Los Angeles Rams

With Garoppolo’s ties to Mike McDaniel from their time together in San Francisco, it would be an obvious fit. He knows Miami’s offense and has 63 NFL starts on his resume, and has a 43-20 record in those starts. Of course, Garoppolo is on the Rams’ roster so it would likely require the Dolphins to trade a late-round pick for him.

▪ Joshua Dobbs - trade with the San Francisco 49ers

Dobbs has had a rough start to his NFL career, but he sizzled a little as an injury replacement for the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings last season before cooling off. He signed with the 49ers as a free agent, and had an impressive preseason showing, earning the No. 3 role. He knows the offense, and Kyle Shanahan, a childhood friend of McDaniel, would be doing his buddy a favor sending Dobbs to Miami for a late-round pick.

▪ Ryan Tannehill - unemployed

Tannehill spent seven seasons as the Dolphins starter after the franchise invested a 2012 first-round pick into him. While Tannehill went on to have success as Tennessee’s starter, his struggles led to his midseason benching last year, and he wasn’t signed this offseason. If Tannehill does come out of retirement it’s unlikely that he’ll play for a minimum salary since he’s already earned mover $100 million in his career.

▪ Teddy Bridgewater - retired

Bridgewater spent the 2022 season as Tagovailoa’s backup, and retired after playing nine seasons in the NFL, starting 65 games (33-32 record). He announced his retirement at the end of last season and is now coaching Miami Northwestern High School, his alma mater. However, playing for his hometown team again might be appealing because he probably believes he’s still better than Thompson. The benefit of adding Bridgewater is that the 31-year-old is familiar with the coaching staff and the offense. However, luring him back to the NFL means Northwestern would need to find another head coach.

▪ Mike White - luring him from Buffalo’s practice squad.

White spent 2023 as Tagovailoa’s understudy, and was waived by the Dolphins last month after he lost a training camp battle with Thompson. He subsequently signed to the Bills practice squad, opting to not return to the Dolphins in the same capacity. However, a spot on Miami’s 53-man roster might interest White, especially since the Dolphins are his hometown team. The only concern might be the possibility that there’s bad blood between White and Miami’s coaching staff, who stacked the deck in Thompson’s favor in their training camp and preseason battle.

▪ Bailey Zappe - lure him from Kansas City’s practice squad.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid is one of the NFL’s best quarterback evaluators, so if he takes an interest in the player it’s worth paying attention to. Zappe, a former Western Kentucky standout the New England Patriots selected in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft, has started eight games in his two seasons in the NFL. He’s 4-4 as a starter and has a 78.5 career passer rating.

▪ Desmond Ridder - lure him from Arizona’s practice squad.

Ridder, a 2022 third-round pick, spent the 2023 season as the Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback, leading the Falcons to a 6-7 record. He was traded to Arizona in March after the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to be his replacement. Ridder didn’t make it to Arizona’s 53-man roster after being beaten out by Clayton Tune, and was signed to the practice squad. The Dolphins could potentially lure him to Miami by offering the former University of Cincinnati standout a higher practice squad salary, or a better opportunity.

▪ P.J. Walker - unemployed

Walker, a former XFL standout, has bounced around the NFL since 2000, starting seven games for the Carolina Panthers and another two for the Cleveland Browns, which occurred last season. This dual threat quarterback signed with Seattle this offseason but didn’t make it onto the Seahawks 53-man roster or practice squad and has spent the first two weeks of the NFL season unemployed. But he’s the type of talent who can give Miami’s first-team defense a good look each week because of his ability to do damage with his legs.

▪ Trevor Siemian - unemployed

Siemian has started 33 games in his six NFL seasons, leading his teams to a 15-18 record. Last season he led the Jets to a 2-1 record late in the season. But the 32-year-old wasn’t signed to anyone’s training camp roster this spring and summer. He owns a 78.7 career passer rating and has completed just 58.5 percent of his passes in his career.

▪ C.J. Beathard - unemployed

Beathard, a six-year NFL veteran, spent his first three seasons in the NFL on the 49ers, so he has history with McDaniel. He’s started 13 NFL games, and all but one of those starts came with the 49ers. But he only managed a 3-10 record and has a career passer rating of 82.1. The Jaguars released him because of a groin injury in August, but there’s a possibility it has healed by now.