What if Stephen Ross forced Tua Tagovailoa on Grier and Flores?
By Brian Miller
The Tua Tagovailoa narrative is far from over. He is a polarizing figure for the Miami Dolphins and not for all the right reasons. But what if this is Stephen Ross’ problem?
So much speculation during the season and in the weeks heading up to the 2021 NFL Draft that the Dolphins were looking to move on from their quarterback. We know who that QB was and there is no need right now to bring him up. We also know that Tagovailoa was the Dolphins QB in 2021.
There is a lot of information that continues to flow through the grapevine. Some say that it was Chris Grier overriding Brian Flores’ desire for Justin Herbert. Some believe it was the other way around. Still others think that both Flores and Grier wanted Tua from the start.
Of course, there is also Stephen Ross and we can most certainly say that he was not pounding his fists for Herbert. But what if he was for Tua? Brian Flores and Grier both could find themselves on the hot seat after 2022 should they not make the post season or post double digit win totals. If there is one thing we all know, if a team can’t develop a quarterback, they are likely to fail.
Miami will enter the 2022 off-season with Tua as their starting quarterback and there will be a lot of questions regarding his future with the Dolphins.
If Ross was involved and if he did put his foot down so to speak and tell them to draft him, then he should be resigned to the fact that he really can’t hold Grier and Flores at fault for that decision. Still, they need to do better with the personnel around him and the playbook they are running.
What we don’t know is who ultimately made the decision to draft Tua and we probably won’t unless someone is no longer with the Dolphins and opts to spill the beans. Until then, it really doesn’t matter who made the call, it will matter who makes him better.
Tua is not a bad quarterback and the Dolphins can win with him but there is so many other things that need to be done to get him there, not that those same things will need to be done for any other QB who takes his place.