MIAMI GARDENS -- As the Miami Dolphins must have quarterback Tua Tagovailoa miss another game while on injured reserve and in concussion protocol, it's Tyler "Snoop" Huntley making his third consecutive start behind center when the team travels to Indianapolis to face the Colts on Sunday.
Huntley, of course, has been immersed into that role after Tagovailoa's original top backup, Skylar Thompson, was injured in his Sept. 22 start in Seattle against the Seahawks.
That rib injury is still limiting Thompson three weeks later, and it has left him without the ability to avenge the 107-yard passing performance that involved five sacks.
"Coming out the Seattle game, I haven't been able to go attack it. I haven't been able to do anything," Thompson said Wednesday in the Dolphins locker room. "So I've kind of just sat there with that taste in my mouth a little bit."
The Dolphins (2-3) have him and Huntley as quarterbacks on the active roster, with Tim Boyle on the practice squad and eligible for elevation to the active roster on game day. When Tagovailoa, who has one game left before he's eligible to come off IR, does return, it's possible someone loses their spot on the team.
"I'm just excited to get back and go practice and get to work and, whatever comes from there, it comes from there," Thompson said of where he stands. "I'm going to stay ready. I'm going to stay believing in myself, and whatever that role is, I'm going to be the best I possibly can be in it."
Thompson assessed his one subpar outing in Seattle that resulted in him taking too many hits, with one too many leading to his early exit.
"The entire day, we struggled getting into a rhythm and just being in sync. There was some challenges with the noise and all those things for the first time," he said. "I'm the guy commanding it all and leading all of it, so that was my biggest takeaway, that I was frustrated with, was just the operation of everything.
"I feel like it affected the whole game. ... We're a very rhythm-, continuity-based offense. We play on specific timing, so everything has to be very crisp."
Thompson revealed he injured one large rib on his right side which connects his sternum to his armpit area. Pain has maneuvered from the rib to the chest as he has recovered. Hitting the 20-day mark since the injury over the bye week, he said he really turned a corner.
While Thompson was deemed a full participant on the Wednesday injury report, he said the ailing rib still affects him in delivering long passes.
"Just pushing the ball down the field, when I got to put a lot of force and trunk rotation," Thompson said, "still can't get the ball to where I have in the past, still trying to work through that last 5 or 10 percent of the injury, but definitely turned the corner over the bye, which is really encouraging and exciting."
It could leave it up in the air whether Thompson or Boyle is Huntley's backup Sunday in Indianapolis (3-3).
But Huntley gets his third start after he made improvements in running the offense from his first start to his second and now got the bye week to grow further. He said Wednesday he was in his playbook and honed in on calls over the idle week.
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"It's been going great, and it's only going to get better," Huntley said.
The South Florida product who is a Hallandale High grad also moved into a new home after living out of a hotel and suitcase for his first two weeks with the Dolphins.
As Huntley distributed passes to wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and tight end Jonnu Smith, the Miami run game also churned out some production, going for 193 yards on the ground last game against the New England Patriots.
"That opens up a lot for the passing lanes," Huntley said. "The defense has to stay honest, and we're able to get some passes downfield."
But can Huntley himself, a mobile quarterback that he is, get involved in the ground game?
"I'm here to play quarterback," he said. "I make runs when I need to."
Said Thompson of helping Huntley, as Tagovailoa has also done: "Our whole quarterback room, we're a team and we're in it together. I think every single one of us has somehow helped him in a way."
After the Colts game, Tagovailoa becomes eligible to begin practicing if he is designated for return, opening a practice window. At that point, he can be cleared through the final phases of concussion protocol.