Dolphins reportedly discussed backup QB role with Jalen Milroe, Dillon Gabriel
The Miami Dolphins need a backup quarterback.
Despite not missing a game in 2023, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa regressed and played only 11 in 2024. The backup quarterbacks — Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle and Tyler “Snoop” Huntley – often struggled, leading to the first sub-.500 record during coach Mike McDaniel’s tenure. General manager Chris Grier subsequently vowed to address the need and it seems like he’s already well underway.
Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel talked with the Dolphins about the team’s back up quarterback role, the two told the Miami Herald at the Senior Bowl. Both reportedly had good conversations . The third top quarterback in Mobile, Jaxson Dart, however, wouldn’t say whether or not the Dolphins reached out to him, per the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Chris Perkins. And while the decision to actually draft Tagovailoa’s backup rather than sign a veteran free agent might not be the right course of action, it’s worth wondering what makes each quarterback unique.
Jalen Milroe:
Look up dual-threat quarterback in the dictionary and a picture of Milroe will be right there.
Listed at 6-2, 220 -pounds, Milroe has the perfect quarterback build. He certainly has the arm talent as well. Milroe’s biggest issue, however, is that he can rely on his athleticism a little too much.
“People want to just continue to see his accuracy and get through the progressions of his reads but I think that was the purpose of coming here and competing this week was to learn those things and how to just stand in there as a quarterback,” said the Arizona Cardinals’ Blaine Gautier who coached the American team quarterbacks. “We didn’t even give those guys no options to run stuff because we wanted to actually see those guys wheel and deal down the field and work through those progressions.”
Despite a seemingly lackluster first few outings at Senior Bowl practices, in large part due to his inaccuracy, he steadily improved to the point that Thursday was his best day. His handle of the offense looked better and when his first few reads weren’t there, he hit the check down. By far his best throw came when he hit a receiver on a deep ball during the red zone scrimmage portion of practice.
Dillon Gabriel:
Talk about experience.
Having played six seasons of college football, very few quarterbacks came to Mobile with more snaps than Gabriel. He spent three seasons at UCF, two seasons at Oklahoma and 2024 at Oregon
He’s extremely accurate – his 72.9 completion percentage ranked third in 2024 – and has good ball placement. The Oregon quarterback was a Heisman finalist for a reason; more than 3,800 yards passing with 30 touchdowns and six interceptions is no joke.
Here’s the thing about Gabriel: he’s extremely undersized yet doesn’t have the athleticism to supplement him. That doesn’t necessarily bode well for him at the next level.
Jaxson Dart:
Dart was by far the darling of the Senior Bowl.
At 6-2, 225 pounds, Dart has a similar build to Milroe that makes scouts fall in love. Take a look at his numbers – 4,279 yards passing, 29 touchdowns and fourth-best 86.3 quarterback rating — and you’ll be blown away. The biggest question for him, however, was whether he could transition to a pro-style offense instead of the quarterback-friendly spread offense at Ole Miss.
“He just needs to be in a NFL-style offense,” Gautier said, comparing him to Milroe in the sense that he too needs to work on “getting through his progressions.”
Added Gautier: “A lot of these guys, they’re all working in shotgun offenses.”
Dart, however, excelled under center on Wednesday. His ball placement really shined through as he hit a receiver on a streak during the two minute scrimmage. He was nearly perfect during 1-on-1s in the red zone as well.
This story was originally published January 30, 2025 at 1:56 PM.
