For Brady Quinn, it has been a long time coming.
On the eve of the 2007 NFL draft, Quinn said he was told by “a very, very good source” that he would be taken by the Miami Dolphins – who then passed on him and chose Ted Ginn Jr with their first-round selection, a move that drew immediate jeers from fans at the team’s draft party.
There was no jeering to be had this week in Miami.
Quinn completed his signing with the Dolphins on Tuesday, then hit the practice field with his new club for the first time and started what basically becomes a competition with Matt Moore to become Miami’s backup quarterback behind starter Ryan Tannehill this season.
“To be honest with you, I thought I was going to Miami,” Quinn said of his draft-day experience, which eventually saw him land with the Cleveland Browns, 13 picks after Miami went with Ginn.
“It’s kind of crazy to think almost eight years later now, I finally made it here.”
The Dolphins are Quinn’s seventh NFL club, although he has only thrown passes in real games for two others – the Browns, from 2007 through 2009, and the Kansas City Chiefs in parts of 10 games during the 2012 season.
To accommodate the Quinn signing, the Dolphins placed quarterback Pat Devlin on the waived/injured list.
“The expectation is to get him immersed in the system and acclimated to how we do things from a schematic standpoint as quickly as we possibly can so we can get a good evaluation of him,” said Dolphins coach Joe Philbin, whose team visits Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a pre-season game on Saturday.
“He came in, he had a very good workout, it seems to be a good fit as an individual, although reports we hear from a locker-room standpoint is that he’s an excellent teammate.”
Moore, who has been dealing with a shoulder issue but reported that he is feeling much better, took the competition in stride.
“Dude, I’ve been through this too many times,” said Moore, who is to make US$4 million (Dh14.6m) this season. “It’s nothing. What do you want me to do? They’re going to do what they think they need to do. All I can do is keep going. But it really has no effect. If it does, I’m in trouble.
“Mentally, I think I just need to stay focused and continue to get better.”
Quinn last played on December 30, 2012, with Kansas City. He spent time last season with the Seattle Seahawks, St Louis Rams and the New York Jets, though did not appear with any of those clubs.
There is a certain symmetry to him being with the Dolphins and not just because of the former Notre Dame star’s 2007 draft experience.
He is newly married and lives with his wife in Fort Lauderdale, just a few miles from the Dolphins’ facility.
“I had a couple of workouts, a couple of opportunities and this ended up being the best situation for me,” Quinn said.
“I’ve actually lived down here now for about five years in the offseason. It’s close to home for me per se and just getting married this past March makes it even better being able to be close to my wife.”
Quinn’s NFL career numbers are far from stellar. He has thrown 12 touchdown passes and had 17 interceptions, with a rating of 64.4.
His confidence is not waning, however, and he remains convinced that he can help an NFL team.
“I’ve always hoped for an opportunity to be able to play in this league and play at a high level,” Quinn said. “I felt like I really did that last pre-season in Seattle.
“I had an opportunity to go out there, we all, the three in that quarterback room, really played really well.
“Unfortunately, they only kept two and that was the end of that. But I really felt like I was playing some of my best football last pre-season.
“Hopefully, I can continue that into this season.”
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