Tyler Huntley discusses joining Dolphins, what Snoop Dog told him. And injury news, notes
A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Wednesday:
? New Dolphins quarterback Tyler Huntley grew up and attended high school about eight miles from where the Dolphins play.
At 26, he finally made it to Hard Rock Stadium this week.
When the Dolphins poached Huntley from the Baltimore Ravens practice squad this week, it fulfilled a longtime goal of playing for his hometown team.
Huntley, who was born in Dania Beach and attended Hallandale High, has been in uniform as a professional only once before at Hard Rock Stadium, but didn’t play in that Baltimore loss at Miami in 2021.
“I was thinking about [the Dolphins] a lot,” he said when asked if playing for the Dolphins quickly entered his mind after Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion against Buffalo. “I was thinking about them coming out of the draft. I was hoping Miami would draft me.”
As it turned out, nobody drafted him out of Utah in 2020, but Huntley not only made the Ravens’ practice squad as an undrafted free agent but ended up appearing in two games as a rookie and starting nine in four years, filling in for injured Lamar Jackson.
Huntley handled himself well in those starts, completing 64.6 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions, with Baltimore winning three of those nine games.
With the Dolphins, he will back up Skylar Thompson as Tagovailoa sits out at least four games. Huntley said he looks at this as a career reset of sorts.
“[Playing in Miami] means a lot,” he said. “All my people are here. You grew up watching them play, right here at home.”
He has admired Mike McDaniel’s offense from afar.
“I think it’s great what he’s doing over here,” Huntley said. “I can’t wait to get into it. They score a lot of points. They’ve got a lot of weapons. There’s so much speed on the outside. There’s no way they can stop all that speed at once.”
He said Tagovailoa has been very helpful to him.
“I’ve been here 24 hours; I’ve probably spent an hour or two with Tua on the field in meeting rooms, walk-throughs,” Huntley said. “I’ve been talking to him and trying to get his grasp of the offense. He’s great.”
Huntley offers the Dolphins a dimension they haven’t had: a quarterback who can do damage with his legs. He has 115 career carries for 409 yards, a 4.4 average.
Could there be a package for him early on?
“I don’t want to look at it like that,” he said. “In the heat of battle, you want to be on top of it instead of thinking, ‘what is this?’ I want to learn the whole thing.”
Huntley said he wanted to attend a Florida school coming out of Hallandale High, but UM, UF and FSU didn’t offer him a scholarship. He said that left a chip on his shoulder.
? Does Huntley prefer to be called Tyler or Snoop?
“My momma would prefer Tyler,” he said. “Everybody calls me Snoop, so you can call me Snoop.”
When Huntley played in the February 2023 Pro Bowl (as an injury replacement for Josh Allen), he met Snoop Dog, the rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, media personality and actor.
“He called me Little Snoop,” Huntley said. “When I threw a couple touchdowns in the Pro Bowl, he’s like, ‘There you go, Little Snoop.’ He was on me about that. It was pretty cool.”
? Guard Robert Jones said the shoulder injury sustained in the Buffalo game is now fine and he plans to play Sunday in Seattle (4:05 p.m., CBS).
He said the injury happened when he got tripped out. “I noticed it later in the game,” he said.
? Receiver Malik Washington, who missed the first two games with a quadriceps injury, said he’s not sure if he will be available Sunday but is able to practice some.
“I’m feeling good,” he said. “I banged [the quadricep] up in practice” a couple of weeks ago. “Making sure it’s right. I want to be out there with my guys.”
? The Dolphins and Seahawks essentially traded inside linebackers this past offseason, with Jordyn Brooks leaving Seattle as a free agent to sign with Miami and Jerome Baker signing with the Seahawks.
“It will be good to go back and play against those guys,” Brooks, who spent the first four years of his career with Seattle, said Monday. “A lot of guys on defense, it will be good to see them and compete against them.”
Brooks has 10 tackles (none for loss) in two games. Baker has nine tackles, including one for loss, in two games.
Baker missed practice on Wednesday because of a hamstring injury.
Through two weeks, Pro Football Focus ranks Brooks seventh and Baker 34th among 76 qualifying linebackers.
What kind of atmosphere should the Dolphins expect at Lumen Field on Sunday?
“It can get loud in there if we allow it,” Brooks said “The fans are crazy about the team. We can control that if we play our game.”
? Aaron Brewer, signed by the Dolphins to replace Connor Williams, is rated by Pro Football Focus as the NFL’s fourth-best center through two weeks. Williams, who signed with Seattle, is rated 16th.
At the time the Dolphins signed Brewer in March, Williams was noncommittal about playing this season because of last December’s serious knee injury.
INJURY UPDATE
The Dolphins’ injury report Wednesday evening included two players who missed practice: left tackle Terron Armstead (shoulder) and defensive lineman Calais Campbell (rest). Mike McDaniel said Armstead’s injury isn’t longterm but hasn’t said if he will play Sunday.
Meanwhile, running back Raheem Mostert (chest) returned after missing the Buffalo game and practiced on a limited basis.
Besides Mostert, five other players on the 53-man roster were limited Wednesday: receiver Grant DuBose (shoulder), Jones, Washington (quadriceps), linebacker Jaelan Phillips (Achilles) and running back Jeff Wilson Jr. (oblique).
