Looking Back Skylar Thompson’s First Two Outings With The Miami Dolphins & Tenure At Kansas State

The Miami Dolphins used a seventh-round draft choice (247th overall) on Kansas State product Skylar Thompson, adding more depth to the game’s most important position.

Obviously, Thompson was never going to beat out 2020 fifth overall pick Tua Tagovailoa for the starting duties in South Beach. And Miami already found valuable insurance by signing journeyman Teddy Bridgewater to a one-year pact in free agency.

Thompson made the Dolphins’ final roster and wound up debuting much sooner than expected. Tagovailoa had to leave the Dolphins’ Week 4 road game against the Cincinnati Bengals after suffering a concussion, and he wound up missing the next two weeks.

Bridgewater finished the game against Cincinnati (a 27-15 Bengals win). He was named the starter for Miami’s Week 5 road game against the New York Jets, but Bridgewater left the game with a head and elbow injury. That forced the Dolphins to put in Thompson, who completed 19 of 33 pass attempts for 166 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception in a 40-17 Jets victory.

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Thompson got the start for Miami’s Week 6 home game against the surprising Minnesota Vikings. Unfortunately, he had to leave after suffering a thumb injury — finishing the day with seven completions on 13 attempts for 89 yards.

Bridgewater finished the game against the team that drafted him. Despite a solid stat line (23 completions for 329 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions), Bridgewater and Miami fell 24-16 to the NFC North leaders.

Tagovailoa was cleared to return for Miami’s Week 7 home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football. The Miami defense led the way in a 16-10 victory to snap a three-game losing skid.

Thompson showed some promise in his two brief appearances for Miami. If the Dolphins don’t end up re-signing Bridgewater, who should command lots of interest on the free agent market, Thompson looks like a good candidate to back up Tagovailoa in 2023 and beyond.

Skylar Thompson’s Success At Kansas State

Thompson’s tenure at Kansas State had lots of ups and downs, but there were certainly more “ups” over his time at the school.

Thompson left the program with the second-most passing yards (7,124) and passing touchdowns (42). Only former Tampa Bay Buccaneers starter Josh Freeman is ahead of Thompson in those categories (8,078 passing yards and 44 passing touchdowns)

Of course, Freeman had 1,151 pass attempts against Thompson’s 885. The latter boasted a higher completion percentage of 62.4.

Thompson made eight game appearances for the Wildcats in his freshman 2017 season. That year, he completed 51 pass attempts for 689 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. They ended the season on a high note, defeating UCLA 35-17 in the Cactus Bowl.

2018 marked the final Wildcats season under head coach Bill Snyder, who opted to retire after the campaign. The team finished 5-7 on the year, with Thompson appearing in 11 games (a 58.7 completion percentage for 1,391 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions).

Following Snyder’s retirement, the Wildcats hired Chris Klieman as their new head coach. This would be the start of what has been a remarkable tenure under the man who also turned around the North Dakota State football program.

Thompson was the Wildcats’ main starter that year, tossing 2,315 passing yards and 12 touchdowns against five interceptions. Kansas State finished 8-5 on the year and reached the Liberty Bowl, where they fell to Navy.

Unfortunately, Thompson missed most of the 2020 season after suffering an upper-body injury against Texas Tech. Will Howard finished the season as the starter, and the Wildcats finished with a disappointing 4-6 record.

With Thompson back in the fold, the Wildcats regained their momentum in 201. They cruised to an 8-5 record, ending the season with a 42-20 victory over LSU in the Texas Bowl.

Thompson’s final game as a Wildcat couldn’t have gone much better: 21 completions on 28 attempts for 259 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. His efforts there were enough for Miami to turn Thompson professional.

Regardless of how his NFL career plays out from here, Thompson’s legacy as one of the all-time great Kansas State quarterbacks is firmly set.

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