When should the Miami Dolphins play Tua Tagovailoa is a big question

When should the Miami Dolphins play Tua Tagovailoa is a big question many fans are asking.

The Miami Dolphins have several splinter camps when it comes to Tua Tagovaila and no one seems to agree as to when the young QB should play.

Before we can ask the question of when Tua should start playing, it is important to know the camps that are currently calling for the different options.

Camp one believes that Tua should sit all year long and learn from Ryan Fitzpatrick. They see this as a no win situation for Tua starting in 2020 and also no need to play him. There is no hurry and he should work on film study.

Camp two sees Tua’s injury history as a concern. While they believe that Tua should sit out this year, their reasons are for his own safety citing the youth on the offensive line and risk vs. long term reward.

Camp three believes that Tua should be starting now. The Dolphins are 1-3 and are not going to make the post-season. There is another smaller splinter group off this one that sees Fitzpatrick as the problem and that Tua gives them a better chance to win.

Camp four sees Tua as a player that should take over either, A: when the Dolphins are pretty much out of the post-season chase, or B: After the team’s bye week. They believe that the best options is to get him playing time before the season ends.

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Camp five is kind of mixture of all of the above. These are fans that believe Tua should be playing in quarter four when and if the game is out of reach. They cited the Jaguars game as a potentially good spot for him to get some reps late with the Dolphins in command.

So when should Tua get time on the field? Honestly, whenever he can. The Dolphins may win with him or they may lose. Fitzpatrick isn’t playing horrible football and yes, like camps one and two, there are benefits from him sitting on the sidelines. Aaron Rodgers spent a couple of years behind Brett Favre before he took over the Packers. There is a solid argument to be made here.

I’m not sure the Fitzpatrick doubters have much of an argument here. Over the past three games, Fitzpatrick has played well, but then again, Fitzpatrick is an average at best quarterback and he isn’t leading any team to the Super Bowl let alone the post-season. Add to that the inexperience of the defense and overall youth of the team, and there isn’t much more Fitzpatrick can do that he isn’t already doing.

Tua Tagovailoa has a dynamic personality but division of when he should start is still lingering.

This is where the “sit Tua and let him learn crowd” hangs their hats and they are not wrong. Tua is the future of the Dolphins and while I agree that seeing him get reps is important, it doesn’t have to be soon but rather in the right position.

I would love to see Tua get some reps in late games but is it really needed right now? That I’m not so sure of. Eventually, he needs to get on the field and take some NFL level hits and until he does, the “he’s too brittle crowd” will continue to hope for a delay in his appearance.

Where do you sit on this fence, or rather what camp do you belong to?