Miami Dolphins fans taking to Tua Tagovailoa with new TuaTaken hashtag

The Miami Dolphins made the decision to draft one of the two top quarterbacks in this year’s NFL Draft making Tua Tagovailoa their future.

TuaTaken is the new hashtag that is being used all across South Florida this morning, as the Miami Dolphins believe they have finally solved their quarterback problem with Tua Tagovailoa, as a new 13 has entered the 305.

No player will ever be able to don the 13 jersey as it permanently belongs to Dan Marino.  However, that was Tua’s number at Alabama.  The Marino shadow will always be hard to replace, just ask any of the 21 starters that have tried to replicate his presence.  The Dolphins used their 5th overall selection during the 2020 NFL draft last night, on Tua Tagovailoa, in hope that they have found a franchise quarterback.

The truth of the matter is that Tua, unlike most common 5th overall selections will not start right away for Miami.  The reasons are two-fold; Ryan Fitzpatrick is the day one starter, he has earned that from inside and outside of the locker room.  And secondly, Tua isn’t ready.  Tua is just five months removed from a serious hip injury that many thought would have him slide in the NFL draft.

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The hip injury that Tua suffered is scary.  My cousin, who is a doctor sent me a note right after the Dolphins selected Tua, asking why would the Dolphins draft an injured player.  Being the cautiously optimistic person, he noted,

"“There’s a risk the hip will die because of the lack of blood supply.  The problem is that this shows up two years after the dislocation! If that happens then he’ll need to replace the hip, and career is over.”Dr. Youssef el Bitar"

So we did a little research and found supporting references from the Journal of AAOS (American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons).  Additionally, my cousin also spent a year with the Iowa Hawkeyes in their fellowship training program, so he’s been around an elite program and studied football players.

The AAOS report can be summarized by stating that 20% of patients that encounter this type of injury require a full hip replacement.  That’s 1 in 5 odds.

Once upon a time, the Miami Dolphins passed on Drew Brees, based on a shoulder injury, and felt that the best decision at the time was to trade for another injured quarterback Daunte Culpepper.  Brees shrugged off those medical reports and has led the New Orleans Saints to a Superbowl victory and countless NFL records, whereas Culpepper wasn’t even to finish the season in Miami.

Bottom line, that 20% that could or might potentially cause Tua to end his NFL career, is a risk that the Dolphins are willing to take.  The reward in all of this is the Dolphins having a Hawian version of Drew Brees or the next Steve Young.  Scouts rave about Tua’s pinpoint accuracy, the leadership skills that he brings into the locker room, and his ability to read the field.  The honest truth from the majority of Dolphin fans was this had to be the pick, this had to remove that dark and cloudy shadow that hovered over Hard Rock Stadium since the last time we saw a player dawn that 13 jersey.

Tua will eventually make his way to Miami and most likely get redshirted his rookie year.  The Dolphins and their fans have suffered long enough, too many bad drafts, or wasted picks or missed alignment from the front office to coaches to owners – you name it the Miami Dolphins have resembled day time soap opera material  But yesterday, all that changed.  The Miami Dolphins said enough.  The Miami Dolphins looked at Tua and said, the juice is worth the squeeze.  Here’s hoping they can squeeze every bit out of him.