It’s not a normal day in the media landscape if the world isn’t talking about Tua Tagovailoa’s job security.
The Miami Dolphins quarterback brought his team to a winning record in his 12 starts in 2021, but a lot of the credit was given to the defense, and deservedly so.
However, essentially everyone has agreed that Tagovailoa dealt with a number of factors that impacted his performance including rumors of other quarterbacks coming in to take his job.
Last week on “The Rich Eisen Show,” Eisen answered if it was more likely that Tagovailoa combined for 30 touchdowns or that Tom Brady would be the Dolphins quarterback in 2023.
Eisen asked the same question to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio on Monday.
“He’s got 33 total [touchdown] in his career and we need 30 combined,” Florio said. “I think there’s a chance his numbers will go up with Mike McDaniel but there will still be flaws in his game that McDaniel will do a great job concealing. I still say that between those two, it’s more likely that he struggles and it’s Brady in 2023.”
That’s the same answer Eisen had given to the question. However, Florio added a name that hasn’t been talked about much to this point.
“Or…Lamar Jackson in 2023,” Florio said. “If the Ravens don’t get this deal done with him – and he’s made it clear that he doesn’t want to negotiate this season – there’s going to be a window of opportunity for them to finally do this after the season, assuming he engages. There’s going to be a point where I think the Ravens get exasperated.
“I think that at some point the Ravens are going to throw their hands in the air and say, ‘We’ve got to move on. If this guy’s not going to take our money, we just have to move on.’ You tag him and you trade him and you maybe trade him to the Miami Dolphins if they’re looking for an upgrade over Tua after this season.”
The Dolphins have two first-round picks next year as well as a second and two thirds. It’s unclear what the trade price would be for Jackson, but expect it to be high. Plus, the team would then have to pay him, much like Miami just did with Tyreek Hill.
If Tagovailoa struggles in 2022, and they think Jackson can put them over, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Chris Grier, or whoever is making the decisions next year, make some calls.
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