MIAMI — Brock Osweiler has a new team. The Kalispell native signed a one-year contract on Friday to play for the Miami Dolphins in 2018.
The Dolphins will be the fourth team Osweiler has played for in his seven seasons in the NFL. Miami expects to have starter Ryan Tannehill back from a knee injury that kept him out all of last season. Osweiler will serve as a backup and insurance in case Tannehill can’t return to full strength. The team reportedly could still target another quarterback in the upcoming NFL draft.
The 6-foot-7 Osweiler spent last season in Denver, his second stint with the Broncos. He started four games, throwing for 1,088 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions.
The former Kalispell Flathead Brave and Arizona State Sun Devil was picked by Denver in the second round of the 2012 draft. He rarely saw the field in his first three seasons backing up Peyton Manning, but played very well in eight games while Manning was injured in 2015, helping Denver earn a high seed for the playoffs. Manning returned for the postseason, leading Denver to a Super Bowl victory.
Osweiler left in free agency after the 2015 season, signing a four-year, $72 million contract with Houston. He struggled in his one year as the Texans’ starter and was traded to the Browns. Cleveland cut Osweiler before the 2017 season, and he landed back in Denver.
Overall, Osweiler has thrown for 6,171 yards, 31 touchdowns and 27 interceptions in 42 career games. He broke out as an NFL prospect in 2011, with 4,036 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions as a junior at Arizona State, and entered the draft a year early.
Osweiler won Montana’s Gatorade Player of the Year Award as a senior at Flathead High School, throwing for 2,703 yards and 29 touchdowns, while running for 700 yards and 13 touchdowns.
