Tua Tagovailoa won’t start vs. Texans, is this the beginning of the end?

The rollercoaster ride named the Miami Dolphins faces another low point, as starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will not start in Week 9 vs. the Houston Texans because of a finger injury.

Tagovailoa had been dealing with the finger injury all week. There was some optimism that Tagovailoa would be okay on Sunday, but Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that Tagovailoa “went through his pregame routine and couldn’t go.”

Rapoport added that “Jacoby Brissett will start” and that “Tua is the backup.”

This news has not been taken well by the Dolphins fan base, as Tagovailoa will once again miss time due to an injury. This will be the fourth (fifth if you count the Buffalo Bills game he left early in with an injury) that Tagovailoa has missed this season because of an injury.

Tagovailoa has now been injured nine times (NINE TIMES? NINE TIMES.) since 2018.

What should the Miami Dolphins do?

The 2020 No. 5 overall pick has been under the spotlight all offseason and regular season. Every single day there is a debate on whether he is the future of the Miami Dolphins or not. However, another injury and missing more time because of an injury will expedite the process of Miami moving on.

To make matters worse, Tagovailoa will serve as the emergency quarterback today, meaning he will be able to play if needed but not healthy enough to start… I would argue that he is needed now, as should all fans who want their favorite team’s starting quarterback to play.

This year, Miami is 1-7, and Tagovailoa may not be the main issue, but he is not part of the solution. And after another injury that has hurt his team, I would argue he is now one of the issues. Missing games because of injury and forcing your team to play the backup quarterback to try and win them is a major red flag.

Adam Schefter of ESPN also reported that Tagovailoa may not play on Thursday Night Football in Week 10 against the Baltimore Ravens as well, so this is likely not just a one-week issue.

Regardless, Tagovailoa will not start the game on Sunday against the Texans, but he did start something: It was clear that Tagovailoa was auditioning for his job the rest of the season, so missing another game due to injury has started the beginning of the end for Tua Tagovailoa in Miami.