Tua Tagovailoa's decision to keep playing shouldn't change Miami's future QB plans

In an instant, Tua Tagovailoa went from being an unquestioned NFL star quarterback, to a player having an uncertain future. However, the signal-caller says that he will continue to play football. Tua suffered another concussion in Week 2. While at first there was concern he might retire, Tagovailoa has made it clear through reporters that he wants to keep playing.

The only obstacle in his way are the upcoming and continued meetings with neurologists to learn more about his future health. Regardless of what the doctors tell Tua and the Dolphins, Miami has to take matters into their own hands as it relates to their franchise's future. They need to draft a quarterback in 2025.

Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel hitched their future to Tagovailoa and no one can fault them for that - 2023 was a clean season for Tua that saw him post league-leading numbers, but now the Dolphins know that it will only take one more hit to change the path that Tua is traveling on.

The Dolphins and Chris Grier must draft a quarterback in 2025

Miami doesn't have to force Tua into a retirement that he doesn't want. They can't afford to if they were so inclined. They also can't force him to play out his contract should he suffer another head injury or get bad news from neurologists/doctors.

For Miami, the simple truth is that Skylar Thompson isn't a starting quarterback, isn't the team's future at the position, and if Tua goes down, the Dolphins have no one to properly run the offense. If the Dolphins want to stay competitive in the window they created this offseason, quarterback must be addressed.

Miami made a lot of internal moves this offseason to get key players extended. These extensions, along with Tua's, creates a three-year window of potential success before they need to start replacing those players. If Tua is not part of the gameday roster for any reason, the Dolphins will not win with Thompson. At best, he is a QB who can help finish a game, but as we've seen against the Bills and Seahawks, even that is hard for him.

The draft is the cheapest option for the Dolphins. Drafting a quarterback early, even in Round 1, gives the Dolphins a quarterback to groom and develop. This is what the Green Bay Packers do well. When they had Brett Favre, they drafted Aaron Rodgers and left him on the bench for a few years. Then, they drafted Jordan Love and let him sit for a couple of years. Now Love is the Packers' franchise quarterback.

Miami has never done anything like that. They need to now. If Miami is going to roll with Tagovailoa as their quarterback the next several years, that is great for the Dolphins and for Tua, but if they don't have a secure plan in place for when he misses time, then the Dolphins will be doomed by their own internal failures.