What if scenario: Miami Dolphins have to replace Tagovailoa in ’23

Ranking most likely to least likely

This a reminder that this is a hypothetical exercise and there’s no confirmation that Tagovailoa will or won’t be in Miami next season. The situation is fluid and the details will undoubtedly come in and change the likelihood or unlikelihood of the Dolphins signing any of these quarterbacks. If we took all nine of these quarterbacks and ranked them from one to 10, with one being the most likely and 10 being the least likely, here’s how the list would likely look.

1.     Jimmy Garoppolo

2.     Tom Brady

3.     Dereck Carr

4.     Baker Mayfield

5.     Daniel Jones

6.     Geno Smith

7.     Trey Lance

8.     Jordon Love

9.     Aaron Rodgers

Numbers one, two, and three are reasonably possible. Garoppolo is a free agent and has a history with the head coach, Brady is a free agent and the owner has wanted him for years, and Carr has a very tradable contract that might not cost Miami much capital because of the years and money attached.

Numbers four, five, and six are unlikely but are at least realistic. Mayfield and Jones won’t command huge money but have shown potential to thrive under an offensive coach. Smith will have multiple suitors for his services after his breakout season, but it will likely be aggressively medium money.

Seven and eight would be huge reaches and would signal desperation. Lance and Love have a combined five starts and are, at best, unknown commodities. Lance will likely stay in San Francisco and Love will be traded somewhere else that has less pressure to produce right away.

The number nine quarterback, Rodgers, is the quarterback the fans probably want the most but is the one with the worst odds. The Packers aren’t going to eat $100 million in dead cap money without a substantial package of draft picks and young players in return. Miami doesn’t have an abundance of first-round picks and the young players on the roster are meant to be building blocks for the future. It’s not happening.

Even though it’s premature to speculate on Tagovailoa’s future going forward, the possible replacements being on fascinating possibilities. Who will be under center for Miami in Week 1 next season? Only time will tell.