The Miami Dolphins eked out a narrow victory against the New England Patriots in Foxborough in Week 5 to move to 2-3 and rescue their season from the brink, but the writing is on the wall at the quarterback position.

Tyler Huntley started and struggled for the second consecutive week in the place of injured starter Tua Tagovailoa, who remains out with a concussion. Huntley completed just 58% of his 31 passes for 194 yards and an INT in a 15-10 win against one of the worst teams in the NFL.

Miami has a bye next weekend and will then travel to play the Indianapolis Colts on October 20. Tagovailoa, who is on the injured reserve list (IR) through the game against Indy, may or may not be healthy enough to return after that contest.

If he can come back, the Dolphins may stand pat at the QB position despite Huntley’s precarious performances over the past two weeks. If not, Miami could — and almost certainly should — look to the trade market to bolster the position ahead of the November 5 deadline.

In either case, the loss of Tagovailoa has made clear that the Dolphins must improve the quarterback room ahead of next season. In that context, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald offered several suggestions of players the franchise could pursue come next March.

 

At the top of that list was Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, who is among the league’s early MVP candidates as his team enters its bye week at 5-0.

“All of this means the Dolphins — this offseason — must either trade for an established backup; use a high draft pick on a quarterback and hope he’s ready immediately if needed; or spend decent money on one of the best options in a 2025 free agent quarterback class that will include Sam Darnold,” Jackson wrote last week.

Jackson acknowledged that Darnold has a good chance to get a starting job elsewhere, be it retaining his current position in Minnesota over No. 10 overall pick J.J. McCarthy — who is out for his rookie season after tearing his meniscus — or landing with another franchise.

That said, if Tagovailoa gets injured again upon his return this season or doesn’t return at all, the Dolphins could easily be in the market for a starting-caliber player to either succeed Tagovailoa, compete with him or back him up in the event he gets hurt again in 2025.

Darnold entered Week 5 with 932 passing yards and a league-leading 11 TDs compared to just 3 INTs. He struggled in London against a stout New York Jets defense, throwing for just 179 yards and 1 INT as the Vikings navigated their way to win despite losing running back Aaron Jones to a hip injury just 7 carries into the contest.

Still, the Vikings are one of only two undefeated teams remaining (Kansas City Chiefs) and have earned five straight wins despite injuries that have kept wide receiver Jordan Addison and tight end T.J. Hockenson off the field for significant stretches this season.

Darnold was the No. 3 overall pick in 2018 and has been a relative bust since then. However, he has proven himself capable of success in the right system, which the Dolphins can offer in the form of speed all over the field on offense.