“Tank for Tua” was a common theme surrounding the 2020 NFL draft. After benching Andy Dalton, perhaps no team was more linked to the idea than the Cincinnati Bengals.
As always, the draft outlook can change in a matter of moments. Saturday, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a serious hip injury against Mississippi State.
Tagovailoa was quickly ruled out for the rest of the season, which changes the complexion of the College Football Playoff dramatically. Conversations about whether Tagovailoa should’ve been in the game at all while up 35-7 take center stage.
Aaron Suttles of The Athletic provided the initial information on the extent of the injury:
Breaking News: Tua Tagovailoa is out for the season with a dislocated hip with a posterior wall fracture, a person with knowledge of the situation tells me.
— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) November 16, 2019
Word of a full recovery went out later:
Tua update from Alabama: pic.twitter.com/61t1REJq81
— Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN) November 17, 2019
Tua himself wasn’t far behind in going public:
Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes! God always has a plan 🙏🏽
— Tua. T 🇦🇸 (@Tuaamann) November 17, 2019
With immediate concerns out of the way, it’s worth looking at how the unfortunate circumstance impacts the top of the 2020 draft.
Tua, alongside LSU’s Joe Burrow, was one of two favorites to come off the board first overall. That figures to change now. The path to the draft for Tua is massive — he has to get healthy, show he’s healthy via medical checks, go through the normal draft process and then convince NFL teams he can stay healthy.
With a big question mark there now, the focus fully shifts to Burrow. But remaining slotted with the first pick, no matter how bad things seem, isn’t guaranteed. For now, the only other quarterback with a surefire first-round slotting is Oregon’s Justin Herbert, but he’s had problems keeping pace with Tua and Burrow in the national mindshare.
Maybe another passer emerges during the draft process after the collegiate season. But the potential constricting of first-round options for teams in need of passers is unfortunate. Obviously, the hope is Tua recovers enough to get back in the conversation, but the medical questions NFL front offices were set to put him through just became all the more daunting.
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