Tua Tagovailoa no longer has to worry about his future as quarterback of the Miami Dolphins. Well, at least for the remainder of the 2021 season.
Before the NFL's trade deadline arrived on Tuesday afternoon, ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported that the Dolphins elected to pull the plug on a deal involving Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. Although the teams were reportedly close to reaching an agreement last week, no dice.
"Out of all the young quarterbacks in the league, I have the most sympathy for Tua. Tua is the one guy who's done nothing to justify the divorce papers that keep getting presented to him," former NFL quarterback Shaun King told the Tiki and Tierney show on Tuesday. "All he's done is tried to do the best he's capable of, at a decent level on a team that had expectations. He hasn't been terrible, had stretches where you can definitively say he's not the answer.
"Granted, he's battled some injuries, but that's something you can't control. And when everything around him has been, at least, moderately responsible for what they're supposed to do, he's helped them win games. Yet, all you ever hear about is, who they're going to get to replace Tua... That's got to be such a difficult mental challenge for Tua, to walk around that locker room and keep his head high in the organization and not become bitter..."
Last week, the Houston Chronicle reported that Miami owner Stephen Ross had approved a trade for Watson, who's currently facing 22 lawsuits alleging acts of sexual assault and misconduct plus 10 criminal complaints. But there was a caveat -- Ross wanted Watson's "legal issues resolved" and clarity from the NFL regarding any potential of punishment before finalizing a deal.
And so Watson will most likely remain inactive for the Texans for the rest of this season, while Houston police and the NFL continue their investigations. Last week, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters that the league isn't ready to place Watson on the exempt list, which essentially means that he could play now. Of course, the chance of this happening is incredibly slim -- Watson has yet to play a single snap this year.
Tagovailoa's two seasons with Miami have been peculiar, largely due to the team's questionable commitment to him. In 15 career games, the former fifth-overall pick has thrown for 2,854 yards with 18 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a 64.7 completion percentage. Through eight games, the Dolphins rank 30th in the NFL in average yards, 28th in points, and 30th in point differential.
The entire NFL conversation between King and Tiki and Tierney can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Tiki and Tierney Show on Twitter @TikiAndTierney and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.