Grading a Steelers-Dolphins trade for ultimate Tua Tagovailoa insurance policy

The Miami Dolphins are expected to start Tua Tagovailoa on Sunday after a four-game absence stemming from the third concussion of his NFL career. When healthy, there's no doubting Tagovailoa's ability to manage Mike McDaniel's complex offense and set up Miami's explosive pass-catchers. That said, the "when" is critical.

Tagovailoa has simply missed too much time with injuries to be deemed reliable. Moreover, concussions are an especially serious brand of malady. Some things are more important than football and head trauma is nothing to trifle with. Ideally Tagovailoa is able to implement a safer approach moving forward, but no quarterback is immune to the occasional hard hit. It's a real concern.

The Dolphins' backup plans at quarterback are pretty dire. Tyler 'Snoop' Huntley and Tim Boyle hit the field in Tagovailoa's absence. Miami was 1-3 without its starting quarterback, dropping to 2-4 on the season. We haven't seen Tyreek Hill so ineffective... ever. It has been rough.

A wise front office would scour the trade market for a new backup, just in case. As luck would have it, the Pittsburgh Steelers might have a ready-made solution in Justin Fields. The Steelers were 4-2 with Fields this season, but he hit the bench in Week 7 once Russell Wilson was cleared to play. Russ was unexpectedly great in his debut, so Fields appears permanently relegated to the bench for now.

Is there a pathway to a trade here? Jeff Howe of The Athletic thinks so.

Proposed Steelers-Dolphins trade would plant Justin Fields behind Tua Tagovailoa

This seems fair on all sides. This is a net victory for Pittsburgh, who only sacrificed a sixth-round pick to acquire Fields initially. Meanwhile, the Dolphins put a proven starter behind Tagovailoa, just in case future disaster strikes. It helps that Fields has considerable long-term upside at 25, so he could be part of the Dolphins' organization for a while if Miami so chooses.

Is Fields a perfect fit in the Dolphins system? No, not really. Tagovailoa has long predicated his game on airing it out vertically. Fields is more of an intermediate passer, inclined to use his legs when the defense takes away his top options. That said, McDaniel's scheme tends to make it easier on quarterbacks, as does having Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle on your side. Fields would need to pick up a whole new playbook on the fly, but he wouldn't be starting straight away. He'd have time to absorb and learn without immediate pressure to perform.

Here is Howe's justification for the trade:

"[The Dolphins are] already in trouble in the playoff race, but Tagovailoa might be able to keep them afloat. If he goes down again, though, their playoff hopes are dead. Consider the long-term lens, too. Fields is a free agent after the season, so he’ll be looking for an opportunity to start. But those chances tend to dry up, and his best-case scenario might be competing for time against a highly drafted rookie. If Fields likes working with McDaniel and the Dolphins see him as a fit, this would be an early opportunity to gain experience in the system."

It's hard to pinpoint a starting opportunity for Fields right now. Las Vegas, maybe? Carolina? Neither team appears particularly inclined to unseat their current young quarterbacks, so Fields' best bet may be joining an elite offense and sitting patiently behind Tagovailoa, whose health and history of postseason underperformance lead to myriad questions about his long-term future with the franchise.

Miami has postseason aspirations still, so it's important to take these precautions. Fields is a good pickup, while Pittsburgh leans all-in on Russ with plans to draft his replacement next April.

Dolphins trade grade: B
Steelers trade grade: B-