‘A heck of a ride’ for Dolphins QB Skylar Thompson. So much guided him to this moment

The availability of the Dolphins’ top-two quarterbacks was uncertain, so on Tuesday coach Mike McDaniel informed rookie Skylar Thompson he would be making his first NFL start against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

The first person the seventh-round pick called? His father, Brad Thompson.

“My dad and I have been through a lot,” Skylar said Wednesday. “This has been my ultimate goal and I think for him as a father, being able to hear me express I’ve accomplished a goal of starting a game in the NFL, it meant a lot to him.”

Since McDaniel was hired as head coach he’s often spoken about embracing adversity, which has been echoed by assistants and players alike. But long before Thompson saw his dream of being in the NFL come to fruition, adversity struck him at a young age.

‘My rock’

When Skylar was 6, his mother, Theresa Lynn Thompson, died of breast cancer two days after Mother’s Day in 2004. In a piece he wrote in 2019, Skylar described the death of “my best friend, my rock” as “the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life.” Compounding the pain was that his grandfather, John Walter Thompson, had died of pancreatic seven months earlier.

The grieving process was hard for Skylar and Brad, and also Skylar’s older siblings Eric and Ashley.

There was a void within the family, but in the coming years, Skylar and Brad’s relationship was strengthened through the tragedy. The two bonded through grilling and music and provided each other with emotional support.

“He lost a mother, I lost a wife. We were both trying to figure it out together as we were on this journey,” Brad said in a recent phone interview. “I’ve leaned on him through the years as much as he’s leaned on me. We kind of grew up together.”

‘A clean start’

Brad remarried to Katherine Ann Burns. When Skylar was 8, the family moved from Palmyra, Missouri, about two hours north of St. Louis, to a suburb closer to Kansas City. Brad, who worked as a school administrator, had gotten a new job at Fort Osage High School in Independence, Missouri.

“I think we just kind of needed a clean start,” Brad said. “I think it just kind of gave us an opportunity to get our feet back underneath us and start working our way out of the situation we had been in.”

Skylar asked his father to promise to let him play football when they settled into their new home.

It was a big change for a basketball family — Brad was a basketball coach and so was his father, John — but Brad obliged.

“He never blinked at it,” Brad said. “That’s what he wanted to do and that’s what he did.”

That led to Skylar’s introduction to Ryan Shartz, the former football coach at Fort Osage. Skylar worked as a ball boy for the team, and Schartz saw the “drive” in the third grader, plus a natural ability to throw the ball.

“We kind of joined forces and started working pretty much every day, as a middle school kid all the way through high school,” Schartz said.

While Skylar relied on his family — which grew to include his younger brother, Anthony — after his mother’s death, “the football field was a place that allowed me to be free from the world and to just play ball, something I have loved since day one,” he wrote in the 2019 piece.

Football as a refuge

At Fort Osage, Skylar was All-State player in soccer and basketball. But he was committed to pursuing his dream of playing football.

As a senior, he led the football team to the state title game, culminating in a record-setting performance in a championship victory.

College programs had been recruiting Skylar since his sophomore year. On the 11th anniversary of his mother’s death in 2015, he committed to Kansas State — his grandfather’s alma mater.

A month later, on Skylar’s 18th birthday, Brad and Katherine gifted him a present he cherishes to this day: A gold chain with the wedding ring Theresa gave to Brad attached to it.

“I wanted to get him something that he’ll always have with him to remember his mom and just know she was there,” Brad said. “It’ll always be a piece of his mom that he can have with him forever.”

Skylar became a full-time starter at Kansas State by his third season, but injuries sidelined for 13 games in his final two years. An upper-body injury kept him out of all but three games in the shortened 2020 COVID season.

Brad called Skylar’s injuries his “darkest times” as an athlete but “he refused to quit. He attacked his rehab every time.”

“He’d get injured and then he’d fight his way back and play real well,” said Kansas State coach Chris Klieman, “then get nicked up and miss a few games again, and then keep fighting and come back. You never counted the kid out.”

Skylar spent countless hours in the film room while he was sidelined, Klieman said, which made him an even better player once he returned. In his final collegiate game, Skylar led Kansas State to a victory over LSU in the Texas Bowl and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

Not only did he leave Kansas State in the record books — he ranks second in passing touchdowns, passing yards and completions — but he was also a beloved member of the Manhattan community.

In late 2021, Skylar established the Thompson Family Cancer Research Fund for the university’s research center in memory of his mother and grandfather. The fund has since raised over $30,000.

“They were two of the most influential and meaningful people in my life, and I had a really hard time wrapping my mind around those losses,” he told the school’s website. “I now believe a big reason I’ve faced these challenges is so I can have the ability to impact others while honoring my mom and grandfather.”

‘Not the run-of-the-mill rookie’

The Dolphins (3-2) used their fourth and final selection in the 2022 Draft to pick Skylar No. 247 overall. For a team that already had Tua Tagovailoa entrenched as the starter and signed Teddy Bridgewater to be his backup, the pick was a bit of a surprise.

However, McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier said they targeted Skylar throughout the draft process, drawn to his competitiveness and penchant for stepping up in big games.

Skylar was seen as a long shot to make the 53-man roster once training camp opened but he earned a spot with an impressive summer, leading the NFL in passer rating in the preseason.

The decision to keep Skylar as a third quarterback quickly proved wise. With Tagovailoa sidelined for last week’s road game against the New York Jets, Skylar entered as Bridgewater’s backup. Then Bridgewater’s start lasted just one offensive play, as he was ruled out due to the league’s updated concussion protocol.

So in stepped Skylar, who completed 19 of 33 passes for 166 yards and one interception in a 40-17 loss, a game that was much closer than the final score indicated.

Three days later, McDaniel announced Skylar would start against the Vikings (4-1).

“He’s not the run-of-the-mill rookie,” McDaniel said.

After six years in college, Skylar, 25, is older than more than a dozen of his teammates, who say his maturity shows in the way he prepares and commands the offense.

“He’s almost as old as I am, shoot,” said fullback Alec Ingold, 26. “But he plays like that. He has confidence. He has composure and conviction.”

Though Skylar admitted it took him some time to “settle in” against the Jets, his coaches said the week of first-team practice reps will benefit him and he’ll more resemble the player who described himself as a “gamer” after he was drafted.

And when he takes the field at Hard Rock Stadium, he’ll likely do so with his grandfather’s initials — “JWT” — and “MOM” written on his cleats, as he’s done throughout his career. He’ll wear his necklace underneath his jersey, a reminder of the woman who left his life much too soon but left an indelible mark on him.

Sunday won’t just be about a milestone achieved, but the people in his life who guided him to this moment.

“It’s been a heck of a ride,” Brad said. “It’s been a heck of a journey. And it’ll be special. It’ll be very special.”