Ready or not, and the Miami Dolphins believe and hope he is, Kyle McCord is going to make his NFL debut Sunday.

There are some tough circumstances for the first-year player from Syracuse, most notably the absence of center Aaron Brewer to go along with that of IR'ed star running back De'Von Achane.

On the flip side, McCord will be going against an Indianapolis Colts team in the midst of a lost season, with a 2-7 record and four veterans traded away before or at the NFL trade deadline.

In that sense, let's just say the timing is better than if McCord's first start for the Dolphins after arriving as a trade acquisition over the summer had come next Sunday when Miami is scheduled to face the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium.

So how challenging is the task facing McCord, combining his lack of experience — shoot, his lack of any NFL regular season snaps — the team he'll be leading and the opponent? And how does it compare to the other instances over the past 10 years when the Dolphins have had to turn to their backup quarterback because of injuries?

DOLPHINS BACKUP QBs AND HOW THEY WENT INTO THEIR FIRST START FOR MIAMI

Kyle McCord, 2026, Week 10 — Trade acquisition, first-year player, replacing starter Malik Willis against the 2-7 Indianapolis Colts

Analysis: The supporting cast performance was an issue for Willis when he was in the lineup, and that was before Brewer and WR Chris Bell were sidelined with injuries.

Quinn Ewers, 2025, Week 16 — Rookie seventh-round pick, replacing starter Tua Tagovailoa for 7-8 Dolphins against the 5-9 Cincinnati Bengals, was 20-for-30 for 260 yards with 0 TD, 2 INT and a 66.0 passer rating in a 45-21 loss

Analysis: What made things easier for Ewers was that the Dolphins already had been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention and he had gotten some game action before.

Tyler Huntley, 2024, Week 4 — Veteran free agent signing, replacing backup Skylar Thompson for 1-2 Dolphins against the 0-3 Tennessee Titans, was 14-for-22 for 96 yards with 0 TD, 0 INT and a 73.3 passer rating in a 31-12 loss

Analysis: The tough part for Huntley was that he really wasn't a great scheme fit for Mike McDaniel's offense, though he did have prior starting experience with Baltimore.

Skylar Thompson, 2022, Week 6 — Rookie seventh-round pick, replacing backup Teddy Bridgewater for 3-2 Dolphins against the 4-1 Minnesota Vikings, was 7-for-13 for 89 yards with 0 TD, 0 INT and a 75.5 passer rating before leaving with an injury in a 24-16 loss

Analysis: While the matchup was tough, Thompson basically had played the whole previous game after Teddy Bridgewater's exit after one play.

Teddy Bridgewater, 2022, Week 4 — Veteran free agent signing, replacing starter Tua Tagovailoa for the 3-1 Dolphins against the 2-2 New York Jets, was 0-for-1 before leaving with an injury in a 40-17 loss

Analysis: Bridgewater was in a good position to succeed in this one, even though he fell victim to the NFL's new zealousness about not missing concussion possibilities.

Jacoby Brissett, 2021, Week 3 — Veteran free agent signing, replacing starter Tua Tagovailoa for the 1-1 Dolphins against the 2-0 Las Vegas Raiders, was 32-for-49 for 215 yards with 0 TD, 0 INT and a 74.8 passer rating in a 31-28 overtime loss

Analysis: Brissett had starting experience, but this was against a good opponent.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, 2020, Week 12 — Veteran free agent signing in 2019, replacing starter Tua Tagovailoa for the 6-4 Dolphins against the 0-10 New York Jets, was 24-for-39 for 257 yards, with 2 TD, 0 INT and a 97.9 passer rating in a 20-3 victory

Analysis: Fitzpatrick had started the first six games of the regular season that year before giving way to first-round pick Tua Tagovailoa, so we might even be messing with semantics in calling him a backup here.

Brock Osweiler, 2018, Week 6 — Veteran free agent signing, replacing starter Ryan Tannehill for the 3-2 Dolphins against the 3-1 Chicago Bears, was 28-for-44 for 380 yards, with 3 TD, 2 INT and a 94.9 passer rating in a 31-28 overtime victory

Analysis: Osweiler had 25 career starts before this game, though this was a tough matchup for Miami.

Matt Moore, 2017, Week 8 — Veteran free agent signing in 2011, replacing starter Jay Cutler for the 4-2 Dolphins against the 3-4 Baltimore Ravens, was 25-for-44 for 176 yards, with 0 TD, 2 INT and a 47.2 passer rating in a 40-0 loss

Analysis: Though that Thursday night game turned into a horror show for the Dolphins, Moore was in a good spot beforehand with a lot of starting experience.

Matt Moore, 2016, Week 15 — Veteran free agent signing in 2011, replacing starter Ryan Tannehill for the 8-5 Dolphins against the 4-9 New York Jets, was 12-for-18 for 236 yards, with 4 TD, 1 INT and a 126.2 passer rating in a 34-13 victory

Analysis: This was a great spot for Moore, who had closed out a big overtime win against the Arizona Cardinals the previous week.