MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins backup quarterback Mike White is in the NFL's concussion protocol after team staff members noticed "irregularities" during Saturday's preseason game at the Houston Texans, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday.
White entered the game for a series in the third quarter when Skylar Thompson was taken to the sideline to be evaluated for an injury.
McDaniel said there is not yet a timeline for White's return, but the Dolphins will re-sign quarterback James Blackman, who began training camp with Miami but was recently cut.
Blackman will be available for Saturday's preseason finale at Jacksonville, along with Thompson and Tua Tagovailoa.
White tried to evade a pass rush on second down at the Miami 41, but was sacked by Houston defensive end Adedayo Odeleye. The Dolphins eventually punted. White was tackled to the ground and did not return. Thompson finished the game.
"We had them split to kind of equal it out from the game previous. When he was in, he was going to be in for the duration," McDaniel said, "and then plans quickly change. You just adjust like all football teams have to, but we were planning on getting him some snaps in the game."
White signed a two-year deal with the Dolphins in March after spending the past three seasons with the Jets.
White started Miami's preseason opener against Atlanta and completed 9 of 14 passes for 85 yards with one interception. He and Thompson, a 2022 seventh-round draft pick, are both vying for the No. 2 quarterback role behind Tagovailoa.
Thompson bounced back from a two-interception performance against the Falcons with 157 yards and three TDs against Houston.
Injuries are piling up a bit for the Dolphins with less than a month before the regular-season opener against the Chargers on Sept. 10.
Rookie running back De'Von Achane was carted off the field Saturday with a shoulder injury after a defensive lineman fell on him. McDaniel said Achane avoided serious injury and is week to week.
Cornerback Cam Smith, Miami's 2023 second-round pick, is out with a shoulder injury suffered against Atlanta.
Veteran left tackle Terron Armstead, who nursed various injuries in 2022, appeared to sustain a lower-body injury during a joint practice against Houston. He was seen on the Dolphins' sideline Saturday wearing a walking boot on his right foot, but McDaniel said he is optimistic about Armstead's return.
"We avoided anything too substantial in terms of a timeline," McDaniel said Saturday. "I'm not really worried about it. I'm just worried about him getting right as fast as possible, which I know he'll do."
Robert Jones, who was competing for a starting left guard spot, left Saturday with a "lower extremity" injury that will keep him out for at least a week, McDaniel said.
"On a roster like this, what it's done is really enabled some people to get some opportunities to showcase some skills while people have been injured," McDaniel said. “It's a harder thing on teams that don't have as much depth as we do."
NOTES: McDaniel said he hasn't concerned himself with whether defensive lineman Christian Wilkins will extend his hold-in into the regular season. Wilkins hasn't participated in team drills amid contract negotiations. McDaniel has been in constant contact with Wilkins and added that when Wilkins is ready to go he will tell him.
