Jalen Hurts will go down in Alabama football history as an amazing player, athlete and leader that left a lasting impression on the university, even though he decided to transfer to Oklahoma. Tua Tagovailoa may be considered one of the best quarterbacks to ever come through the Crimson Tide program.
What do both of these former Alabama quarterbacks have in common? We have no idea when they will get their first start in the NFL.
Tagovailoa was drafted No. 5 overall by the Miami Dolphins and is expected to be their long-term solution at the position after numerous failed attempts.
CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfrora predicts that Tagovailoa will first see the field late in his rookie season, in a Week 13 matchup against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
“There was already no real rush to hand the team over to Tua even before the pandemic,” says La Canfora. “Coming off hip surgery, and with the dependable Ryan Fitzpatrick in the fold, Chan Gailey can take his team folding Tua into the offense. That transition was always more likely to come much closer to the end of the season than the beginning. And this is a team on the rise that will be able to be competitive with most teams with Fitzpatrick doing his thing … But Fitzy will start to run out of gas eventually, and even with an expanded playoff field, Miami isn’t ready to take that step just yet. That Week 11 bye is the perfect time to be ramping up Tua and with the Bengals set to come to Miami in Week 13, well, that’s a date I might circle with a Sharpie. That begins a stretch of three straight home games to let the fanbase start to see their future in action before the Dolphins close with consecutive road contests.”
La Canfora also continues to offer up an interesting take on when, and where Jalen Hurts, who was drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft by Philadelphia, will see his first start at the professional level.
He believes Hurts will be a Week 1 starter in the 2022 NFL season, despite having gotten plenty of playing time while on the Eagles.
“Make no mistake, I believe Hurts sees the field much, much sooner than that, only not in a starting QB capacity,” writes La Cafora. “Recall when the Ravens selected Lamar Jackson at the end of the first round a few years back and had certain packages ready to go Week 1. Hurts is a unique weapon who can complement Carson Went in many ways and add wrinkled to that offense (think Taysom Hill) while biding his team and being developed into a potential starting QB. This franchise has a knack for that – always seemed like Kevin Kolb might be a trade piece has the concussions not cut his career short – and GM Howie Roseman loves to wheel and deal and two years of tutelage under Doug Pederson while apprenticing under Wentz just might have Hurts poised to fetch a handsome return via trade prior to say the 2022 NFL Draft. Eagles are always forward-thinking and in the meantime, Hurts’s skillset lends itself to numerous roles.”
There’s no telling when either of these two former Alabama stars will get to be the starting quarterback for their respective teams, but Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on the progress they make in their rookie seasons in the NFL!
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