Tua Tagovailoa has been one of the best quarterbacks in the league this season when healthy. Unfortunately, he has dealt with multiple concussions this season and is unlikely to return even if the Miami Dolphins make the playoffs.
Tagovailoa is just 24 years old, but the Dolphins quarterback’s playing future may be up in the air after these injuries. The Dolphins may have to turn to a backup plan this offseason even if Tagovailoa clears protocol to return.
Carl Dukes and Brian Baldinger of the Audacy Original Podcast “In The Huddle” talked about the Tua Tagovailoa situation and what the Dolphins may do this offseason at quarterback.
“I talked to an executive, Baldy, about the Dolphins’ situation and I had one question for him,” Dukes said (11:32 in player above). “And my question was, do you go get a quarterback?”
The Dolphins have been building a strong team around Tagovailoa with improvements on both sides of the ball. They’re supposed to be a team that is ascending toward competing for a Super Bowl. That may not be possible if Tagovailoa can’t play and they don’t have a backup plan.
“He said flat out, ‘I gotta go get a quarterback.’ This executive said ‘Look, I gotta go get a quarterback. … I’m looking at that quarterback room right now and I’m going there’s more of a chance that he won’t be able to play than he will be able to, and therefore I’ve got to cover myself.’ I said well, does that mean a quarterback competition?” Dukes said.
It may not be a quarterback competition, but it sure seems like the Dolphins may go after a quarterback to be a fallback option.
“He said, ‘Look, you come back next year and if Tua passes all of the health protocols, he’s your guy. But I cannot go into another season knowing that I could lose him for weeks at a time because of this history now,’” Dukes relayed. “He just says ‘This is just smart football. I have to do this.’”
Tagovailoa may be able to take the Dolphins to that next level if he’s healthy. However, this season has shown that having two competent quarterbacks may be the way to go for Miami and other teams.
“I’m with the executive,” Baldinger said. “Look, we all love Tua. We love what he stands for. We love the way he competes, all that. He’s still the highest-rated quarterback in this league. But there’s injury history at Alabama, there’s injury history at Miami, and now there are these concussions, which are scary…
“Let’s just say they’re sitting around the roundtable, ‘Can we get 15 games out of Tua?’ Maybe you can. But still, that’s where the discussion starts: Can we get 15 games out of Tua right now? And if that’s where you’re leaning and that’s what you’re hoping for, that’s not good enough,” Baldinger continued. “I think you have to start planning for the future at that position, certainly Tua you can keep him on the roster, he’s under contract, all that stuff, but I think you have to start preparing for the future.”
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