TheMiami Dolphins are a professionalAmerican football team based inthe Miami metropolitan area. They are members of theEast Division of theAmerican Football Conference (AFC) in theNational Football League (NFL). LawyerJoe Robbie and actorDanny Thomas were granted enfranchisement on August 15, 1965, committing their team as the ninth member of theAmerican Football League (AFL).^[1][2]

The Dolphins have had 40 different starting quarterbacks (QB) in their franchise history; onlyGeorge Mira andTyler Thigpen have started only one game for the Dolphins.^[3][4][a] The Dolphins' first starting quarterback wasDick Wood during the first inaugural season game in 1966, against theOakland Raiders; Wood however was replaced a week later by rookieRick Norton due to inconsistency.^[5][6] Notable Dolphin starting quarterbacks includePro Football Hall of Fame inducteesBob Griese andDan Marino, who together combined for 391 total starts and 239 wins all with the Dolphins.^[7][8][9] Other standouts includeEarl Morrall,Don Strock,David Woodley,Jay Fiedler, andChad Pennington.

The Miami Dolphins entered the2012 season with the franchise's 32nd different starting quarterbackRyan Tannehill. He is the first rookie to ever start on opening day for the Dolphins.^[10]

The Miami Dolphins entered their inaugural season in1966 withDick Wood as their starting quarterback against theOakland Raiders.^[11] By the end of the first half Wood had thrown four interceptions, two of which translated to ten points by the Raiders.^[5] Rookie replacementRick Norton finished the second half of the game and started the next two games against theNew York Jets andBuffalo Bills.^[12] Trailing 41–3 against the Bills, Norton was benched in favor of rookiepunterGeorge Wilson Jr., who played quarterback in college atXavier University. Wilson outscored the Bills 21–17 during his 40 minutes of playing time, throwing three touchdowns and passing for 185 yards.^[13]

Wilson went on to start the next seven games for the Dolphins. During that time Wilson collected the franchise's first and second victories against theDenver Broncos on October 16, and followed it up a week later with a victory against theHouston Oilers.^[14] However, during the week twelve game against the New York Jets, Wilson suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the season.^[15]

Dick Wood started the next three games for the Dolphins, but didn't finish the season as rookie quarterbackJohn Stofa started the final game against the Houston Oilers.^[11] Stofa led the team to its third and final victory of the season by beating the Oilers, 29–28.^[16]

Bob Griese, a quarterback fromPurdue, was selected by the Miami Dolphins as the fourth pick in the first round of the1967 Common draft.^[17] Entering the1967 season, rookie Griese was slated to develop as a backup quarterback behind John Stofa. However, due to an ankle injury suffered during the first game of the season, Stofa was sidelined, and Griese finished the game leading the Dolphins to 35–21 victory over theDenver Broncos. Griese started the next two games, but sustained an injury during the Week 5 game against theNew York Jets and was replaced by Rick Norton for three games. Griese resumed the role of starting QB for the remaining eight games of his rookie season.

For the next 13 seasons Griese started a majority of the Miami Dolphins' games. During that tenure Griese became the first Miami Dolphins quarterback to start all of the season's games in1970, led by head coachDon Shula. In the same year the Dolphins collected their first winning season and playoff berth, but lost against theOakland Raiders, 21–14, in the divisional round. The following year,1971, the Dolphins made their firstSuper Bowl appearance against theDallas Cowboys, but lost, 24–3.

In1972, Griese started and won the first five games of the season but fell victim to injury against theSan Diego Chargers.Earl Morrall started and won the remaining nine games of season. Morrall started both the Divisional and AFC conference games, but Griese returned to startSuper Bowl VII. Griese's 14–7 win against theWashington Redskins completed theNFL's first and only perfect season. Earl Morrall's performance earned him the NFL's inauguralComeback Player of the Year Award. Starting 11 of the season's 17 games, contributions from his 1972 season and further performances in his career have listed him as one of the top backup quarterbacks in NFL history.^{[citation needed]}

In1973, Griese started 13 regular-season games and led the Dolphins to their third consecutive Super Bowl appearance, the first in NFL history and second consecutive Super Bowl victory inSuper Bowl VIII, the second in NFL history.

Over the next seven years Griese started 74 regular-season and three playoff games. He sustained a multitude of injuries and shared the starting role with quarterbacks Morrall,Don Strock, andDavid Woodley, but finally in1980, against theBaltimore Colts, Griese sustained a shoulder injury that would prompt him to retire at the end of the season.

In his career, Griese played in six Pro Bowls and two all-star games, was elected the Dolphins' MVP six times, and was named All-Pro in 1971 and 1977. Throughout the 1970s the Miami Dolphins had the highest winning percentage in all of professional sports.^{[citation needed]} Griese was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

Following the end of Griese's tenure, quarterback David Woodley became the Dolphins' starting quarterback and continued the Dolphins' success. Woodley made it to the playoffs in1981 and in1982. During the 1982 season the Dolphins lost in their fourthSuper Bowl appearance against theWashington Redskins, 27–17. In1983, Woodley lost the starting job to rookie quarterbackDan Marino. David Woodley is known as being the transition quarterback between Bob Griese and Dan Marino.

Dan Marino, a quarterback from theUniversity of Pittsburgh, was selected by the Miami Dolphins as the 27th pick, in the first round of the1983 NFL Draft. Much like Griese, Marino was slated to develop under starting quarterbackDavid Woodley. During the third game of the season against theLos Angeles Raiders, Marino saw his first action as an NFL quarterback, and passed for ninety yards and threw for two touchdowns. Following a loss during week 4, Marino replaced Woodley, and the following week started his first game against theBuffalo Bills. Miami, however, lost the game in overtime 38–35.

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Through the 2025 NFL Season

• Lists of NFL starting quarterbacks

• ^a : In each game, a team picks one player to start in thequarterback (QB) position. Players may be substituted during the game, but the term "starting quarterback" refers to the player who started the game in that position.
• ^b :Strikes by theNational Football League Players Association in the1982 and1987 seasons resulted in shortened seasons (9- and 15-game schedules, respectively).^[76]

• Miami Dolphins players
• Lists of NFL quarterbacks by team
• Miami Dolphins lists

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