The Miami Dolphins have acquired quarterback Tyler Thigpen from the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick. With the injury to Chad Pennington, it was assumed that the Dolphins would go out and try to get a quarterback on their roster that has at least some starting experience. Thigpen will join Chad Henne and Pat White as the three quarterbacks in Miami.
Thigpen is in his third season out of Coastal Carolina. In 2008, Thigpen saw extended action in Kansas City, appearing in 14 games. He threw for 2,608 yards and 18 touchdowns last year, with a career high 320 yard effort against the Dolphins in week 16. Thigpen can also move, rushing for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2008.
It should come as no surprise that Bill Parcells and the Dolphins turned to the Chiefs for some help with their quarterback depth. Kansas City GM Scott Pioli is Bill Parcells' son-in-law and this marks the second time he's done business with Pioli this year. The Chiefs had also been looking to trade Thigpen for a little while now bringing in Matt Cassel and Matt Gutierrez.
While we shouldn't read too much into this seeing as how we all knew the Dolphins would be bringing in some quarterback with starting experience to compliment Henne and White, it's worth noting that Thigpen is only 25 years old and has far more starting experience than both of Miami's two quarterbacks combined. Even still, I suspect Thigpen will be nothing more than the #3 quarterback on gameday for the foreseeable future.
To make room for Thigpen on the roster, the Dolphins have indeed placed Chad Pennington on Injured Reserve.
Here's what Joel Thorman of Arrowhead Pride says about Thigpen:
Depending on the compensation, this is a good move for the Miami Dolphins.
Last season, injuries to the Kansas City Chiefs top two quarterbacks forced Tyler Thigpen into action. While the wins didn't come in droves like the fans would have wanted, he did bring an excitement with his play.His athleticism is his biggest upside. It wasn't a surprise in the least to see him reel off 30-50 rushing yards in a game last season, which is a far higher average than the vast majority of quarterbacks.There are, however, a couple of downsides. First, his accuracy is not good. Not at all. Granted it was his second year in the NFL, and first time seeing any extended action, but he still completed less than 55% of his passes which is poor for a starting quarterback in the NFL.The other downside is the offense that'll have to be run to accommodate him. By the second half of the season when Thigpen was the only option for the Chiefs, they employed what we over at Arrowhead Pride have dubbed the ArrowSpread. It's basically a spread-like offense that's used to create space for him. It's sort of gimmicky and isn't used by many teams.Bottom line? Thigpen's a good backup assuming he's put into the right offense. Depending on the compensation, I like this move for the Dolphins with Chad Pennington's injury.I'm not even a Dolphins phanatic and I can't wait to see an offensive set that includes Tyler Thigpen and Pat White in the same backfield.