Tua Tagovailoa seems safe as the Dolphins starting quarterback for now, but his seeat is getting warmer.
Tua Tagovailoa is the starter for the Miami Dolphins going into 2023. Despite a tumultuous 2022, when healthy, Tagovailoa proved he was capable of being one of the strongest quarterbacks in the league.
Unfortunately, multiple concussions in 2022, including a very scary one that resulted in a hospital visit in Cincinnati, kept him from seeing the field as much as he would have liked. Tua missed four regular season games and the team’s Wild Card game against the Buffalo Bills due to concussions.
Tagovailoa is taking unconventional options to avoid his the “injury prone” label moving forward. One of those includes learning Judo to keep better balance and fall in ways that keep him out of harm’s way whenever possible.
While the Dolphins have said they’re committed to him for now, his seat is getting slightly warmer as the draft nears according to the latest NFL rumors.
Dolphins keeping their options open at QB according to NFL rumors
According to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, the Dolphins are going to, “explore all options at quarterback,” a strategy that is driven heavily by a decision lingering on Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option on his contract. The team must decide on that option for 2024 by May 1, and it carries a cap hit of $23.2 million.
Anderson is reporting that for now, this is just due diligence on the Dolphins’ end. Her report didn’t get into specifics on if the Phins were looking at free agents or possible quarterbacks in the draft. One would assume at this point they’re taking exploratory looks at all paths.
In the draft, the Dolphins do not have their first-round pick, so it’s unlikely they can get a starter-ready QB this year there. Free agency or the trade market could be another story.
Remember, Lamar Jackson grew up in the Miami area. Perhaps this could re-open that speculation.
