With last night’s performance, QB Skylar Thompson could be playing his way onto a roster this year—possibly the Steelers. Serving as QB4 throughout most of camp, he now has a shot, albeit a temporary one. Now in his fourth season, he certainly has NFL experience and is a known commodity in the league.
When the Steelers first signed Thompson, almost everyone viewed him as the proverbial “camp arm”. In essence, he essentially served that role until rookie QB Will Howard broke his pinky. At risk of missing the entire preseason, Howard may not be prepared to serve as QB3 when the season starts.
While teams are not under an obligation to dress an emergency quarterback, the Steelers have always been a team that carries three on their 53-man roster. If they are not comfortable with Howard and his lost practice time in that role initially, Skylar Thompson is the guy.
The only problem is, another NFL team might plausibly consider Thompson the guy, too. He only strengthened his case last night against the Jaguars, going 20-of-28 for 233 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
A seventh-round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2022, Skylar Thompson played with Will Howard while both were at Kansas State. Thompson has three NFL starts in the regular season over 10 games. He is 81-of-138 in his career for 721 yards and one touchdown to three interceptions. Last season, he started one game, going 21-of-33 for 187 yards.
Thompson’s most notable game did the Steelers no favors. In the 2022 regular-season finale, he helped beat a New York Jets team led by Joe Flacco that kept Pittsburgh out of the playoffs. He started the following week in the playoffs, going 18-of-45 for 220 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. His Dolphins lost to the Bills, 34-31.
Across his preseason career with the Dolphins, Skylar Thompson went 111-of-171 for 1,192 yards with 11 touchdowns to six interceptions. Last night’s debut with the Steelers was arguably his best, but not his first three-touchdown game. In 2023, he went 15-of-22 for 157 and three touchdowns to no interceptions against the Houston Texans. He also went 7-of-10 for 103 yards and three touchdowns to no interceptions as a rookie against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Thompson maintained a steady job with the Dolphins until mid-December last year, waived on the 14th and signed to the practice squad on the 17th. After the season ended, the Steelers signed him to a Reserve/Future contract. The way things are going, he could be on their 53-man roster, even if temporarily, to start the season.
Because if the Steelers try to waive Thompson, there is a distinct possibility that somebody might claim him. They signed Logan Woodside, who has ample experience with Arthur Smith and whom they could sign to the practice squad as a vested veteran not subject to waivers. But their preference is clearly Thompson, so they may have to strongly consider keeping him.
