Tua Tagovailoa: Miami Dolphins stuck in purgatory
Tua Tagovailoa seems to be on track to play against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in London. Will this be detrimental to not only his development but to the future of the Miami Dolphins?
The Fins have not played well this season to put it nicely. They have issues in every aspect of the game, from coaching to the defense.
Their starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was injured in week two of the season by the Bills, he was put on the injured reserved list due to fractured ribs. Currently, we do not know how bad the fracture was or the amount of ribs Tagovailoa has compromised.
With Tagovailoa’s return expected against the winless Jaguars, how healthy will he truly be? If his ribs were hurt enough to miss three weeks it seems fair to believe he is will not be 100%.
Will Tua Tagovailoa get the green light to start for the Dolphins against the Jaguars? 👀 pic.twitter.com/urfyTmMVoj
— Dolphins Nation (@DolphinNationCP) October 13, 2021
On Sunday if Tagovailoa does not play well and the Dolphins provide the excuse of the injury still hindering the quarterback, will fans still be on board the Tua train? Would it be fair to judge Tagovailoa playing with hurt ribs?
Miami will likely be on the train as Tagovailoa has not played enough games to fairly assess what he can bring to the table. Fans may say they have seen enough, but the Dolphins have continually shown they provide a fair-sized leash for drafted quarterbacks.
In recent memory, 2012 first-round pick Ryan Tannehill was at the helm for six years and posted a 42-46 record. Tannehill managed only one winning season as a starter with the Dolphins where he suffered a knee injury after 13 games. 2008 second-round pick, Chad Henne started multiple years with the Fins and posted a 13-18 record as a starter. Henne never threw for more than 15 touchdowns in a season.
The Dolphins have been linked to Deshaun Watson for months now, but with the legal troubles surrounding that situation, Tagovailoa may be provided the benefit of the doubt for another year regardless of how well he plays.
The current road the Fins are on may lead to fans still not knowing if they have a starting-caliber quarterback, and go into another offseason not knowing the state of the most important position in sports.