3 quarterbacks the Dolphins can replace Tua Tagovailoa with
With Tua Tagovailoa exiting Sunday’s game with a rib injury and perhaps facing some missed time, here are three replacement options for the Dolphins.
In the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bils, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was carted off after taking a hard hit. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported the second-year signal caller suffered bruised ribs with an MRI coming Monday.
So, nothing broken for Tua, but the MRI will tell the full story on cartilage, etc. Officially, he remains questionable to return. Jacoby Brissett is in against the #Patriots. https://t.co/BcsbmaWlb2
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 19, 2021
In terms of missing time or not, it will probably come down to pain threshold for Tagovailoa. He could wear protection on his ribs and play through it, as long as he wouldn’t do more damage. The MRI on Monday will be telling in terms of cartilage damage, as Pelissero cited.
But let’s assume Tagovailoa misses some time. The Dolphins may look to available downspout options to fill in a spot on the active roster for a chunk of weeks, or it may be an excuse to make a bolder move.
Here are three replacement options for Tagovailoa the Dolphins could consider.
Dolphins: 3 replacement options for Tua Tagovailoa
3. Deshaun Watson
Watson’s legal situation remains unresolved, and as long as the Texans are willing to pay him not to not play the league won’t be motivated to do anything. A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports recently reported the criminal probe into Watson is “looking more unlikely” to be done by the Nov. 2 trade deadline.
Adding to Perez’s indications that at least one team might be willing to trade for Watson without a grand jury decision and the Dolphins are still the front runner, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk added how the Dolphins were talking to the league office at one point to gather insight on when or if Watson would be placed on what amounts to paid leave.
If the Texans are willing to reduce their lingering asking price a bit, which is a boatload of early draft picks, the Dolphins could jump in at some point and make a deal for Watson. It’s not going to happen strictly based on any urgency Miami feels based on Tagovailoa’s health, but Watson is an option to step in.