Let’s start with this: if Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is what everyone thinks he is, this will be a non-issue for the Dolphins moving forward. But on the doorstep of Tagovailoa’s first start with the Miami Dolphins this afternoon against the Los Angeles Rams, ESPN’s Adam Schefter has released a report indicated what one variable at play seemed to be in making this decision.
When the decision was made, head coach Brian Flores declared that the move as in the best interests of the team. That could be packaged in a number of different ways, but Schefter seems to be indicating that Miami’s stockpile of rich 2021 NFL Draft ammunition at least helped prompt the Dolphins to make the change. Why?
Because if the Tua Tagovailoa experience isn’t what it is cracked up to be, the Dolphins need to know if they ought to be exploring potential quarterbacks moving forward.
“The Dolphins need to know what they have in Tagovailoa as they enter the 2021 draft with two picks in each of the first two rounds, courtesy of their trade last year that sent left tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Texans,” wrote Schefter.
“”That’s definitely a part of it,” one source close to the Dolphins’ thinking told ESPN, regarding Miami’s recent decision to replace popular veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick with Tagovailoa. “Whoever told you that is right.””
This isn’t to say Miami expects Tagovailoa to fail. But with durability questions aplenty and the Houston Texans’ draft selections certainly placing the team in contention for a top-5 pick and, by extension, the strike zone of other quarterbacks; Miami is wise to let Tagovailoa take the field and get a gauge for how he fancies the pro game. It would have to take a disastrous experience for Tagovailoa to prompt the team to shift their attention elsewhere and no one is expecting that. But at the very least Miami is well within their rights to want to see it.
The other side of the coin is equally relevant for the Dolphins. If Miami got the quarterback they think they did, they can use this time to simultaneously push for the postseason and see what kind of players would be best suited to build around Tagovailoa. This has always been a long-term play for the Dolphins. It just so happens that the future is at an intersection with the present as it pertains to all of the variables at play for Miami’s quarterback swap.