Dolphins' latest loss to Cardinals makes the Tua Tagovailoa decision look even dumber

It may have been a one-point loss at home, but by falling to the Arizona Cardinals 28-27, that means the Miami Dolphins are now 2-5 on the season. Outside of the Buffalo Bills, the rest of the AFC East is a festering sad bag of crap. While getting Tua Tagovailoa back last week did give the Dolphins offense some bite, it may not have been worth it. He did protect himself way better, but this is a losing battle.

There are a key takeaways I have from the Dolphins' latest loss to Arizona. One is a subdued Tagovailoa will hold this team back. While I think we all appreciate him learning how to slide and not put his head into compromising situations, you have to wonder if his declining athleticism is putting the Dolphins offense in a bad spot when he is no longer capable of redlining it. Look who he lost to...

Like Tagovailoa, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is not a big guy. He might be the smallest starting quarterback in the league. Because of his baseball background, Murray has done a far better job of protecting himself when he escapes the pocket. In short, he can provide his team's offense the extra boost it needs out of the quarterback position, whereas Tagovailoa doing that puts his health at risk.

Even with the return of Tagavailoa, this Dolphins team is going nowhere fast now that they are 2-5...

Tua Tagovailoa's return was not good enough for the Miami Dolphins

If you look at the stats from the two starting quarterbacks, while they were close, the guy who won the 2018 Heisman Trophy once again beat out the runner-up. Murray completed 26-of-36 passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns. He had five carries for 19 yards, but put the ball on the ground once. Tagovailoa's stat line was a tick off Murray's in pretty much every category in the Dolphins' latest loss.

He completed 28-of-38 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown. Tagovailoa had three carries for 13 yards. Although he was sacked only once, he put the ball on the ground three times. That means on three of the four plays in which he was tackled, or had the football to end the play, it came out of his hands. You can't have that if you want to play winning football. To me, it suggests he is playing scared.

That would be totally justifiable. Tagovailoa is essentially one more concussion away from having to medically retire. He may want to play, but if he does he has to play fearless. Unfortunately, Tagovailoa playing fearless is life-threatening and detrimental to his health. It is an incredibly awkward paradox that nobody wants to watch or be a part of. The result is the Dolphins coming up short repeatedly.

I am not a doctor, just a fan of the sport. What I am trying to understand is the endgame here with Tagovailoa and the Dolphins. He is under a huge contract, but is an untradable asset for so many reasons. He may have been rusty, but I cannot say that I am confident about the Dolphins' chances in most games they will play the rest of the way if this is going to be the version of Tagovailoa we get.

I just know that the juice is not always worth the squeeze, and it serves Miami to draft his successor.