With each new week, there is a different story line related to Miami Dolphins’ rookie Tua Tagovailoa and, this week, headed against the San Fransisco 49ers, is no different.
The big story line involving Tagovailoa this week involves his hip, and it feels like every week that passes when it seems inevitable for Ryan Fitzpatrick to pass the torch to the Miami Dolphins’ future, Fitz pulls off a magnificent performance.
In this week’s pregame press conference getting ready for the 49ers, Fins’ head coach Brian Flores was hesitant to put in the future superstar.
“The players are essentially my kids,” Flores said in a YouTube conference. “No one is going to pressure me into doing anything. When we feel like he’s ready to go, we’ll put him in.”
This situation makes me wonder about the overall health of Tua and if he is just suiting up to make the opposition think they have a backup quarterback.
It is kind of like the 2017 Minnesota Vikings quarterback situation, where backing up Case Keenum was Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater.
Neither quarterback was healthy at the time, but that was the illusion Mike Zimmer and the coaching staff had to take by suiting up the two quarterbacks because they knew the reality was they had no one behind Keenum who could play.
Flores was criticized for this move. But let’s look at the Dolphins’ quarterback objectively.
The first and most important point is Ryan Fitzpatrick isn’t terrible. Fitzpatrick’s opening week against the New England Patriots was atrocious.
However, Fitz has just had enough flashes of brilliance in the first five NFL weeks to justify that his team still does have a chance for a playoff spot, as possibly a wild-card if he continues to perform the way he has against Jacksonville and San Fransisco.
Flores has also referenced Tua’s hip as a “health risk” in recent pressers. Tua is still recovering from this injury, and with any injury, there are two components: the physiological and the emotional aspects.
The Miami Dolphins just simply can’t risk the chance of losing their first franchise quarterback since Dan Marino. Since Marino’s retirement, the Fins have been unable to replace the great gunslinger.
The Dolphins have failed over and over again to replace their great quarterback, and the chance at a quarterback as talented as Tua is just not worth the risk.
They say good things come to those who wait.
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Jason Blasco, reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.
