The Miami Dolphins are set to welcome back starter Tua Tagovailoa this week as the quarterback is gearing up for his return to action following his latest concussion. This is a welcome development, not only for Tagovailoa after there was external doubt if he’d ever play again, but also for a Dolphins offense that has looked like a fish out of water since his departure.
Miami has lost four of its last five games, starting from when Tagovailoa suffered his concussion against Buffalo in Week 2. In that time, the Dolphins have scored 15 or fewer points in each of those games. To put it into further context, they’ve scored a total of 70 points this season, which is the same amount they scored in a single game in 2023 (Week 3 vs. Denver).
All that has the Dolphins (2-4) in a dire position as it relates to their playoff standing. SportsLine data scientist Stephen Oh’s current projections have Miami with a mere 6.8% chance of making the postseason, and only a 9.7% chance of reaching nine or more wins on the campaign. So, not only are the Dolphins asking Tagovailoa to overcome his latest head injury and return to the player he was before, but also be the savior of their season.
That’s a tall order and a situation that could’ve been avoided with better foresight by the front office.
The concerns about Tagovailoa suffering another head injury have loomed over the organization ever since that infamous concussion in 2022 against the Bengals. While the fear extends much further beyond Tagovailoa’s ability to play football, in the context of this conversation, one would think it’d be a priority of general manager Chris Grier and the rest of the decision-makers in Miami to establish a deep quarterback room in the event Tagovailoa goes down, just as he did this season.
Even as Tagovailoa was in the middle of his negotiation on what would eventually be a four-year, $212.4 million extension with the franchise this offseason, Grier candidly said back in March the quarterback’s health was a factor in those contract talks. Even more of a reason to solidify your investment in Tagovailoa and the team by bringing in a capable backup, right?
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel has thrived with Tagovailoa under center, yet his offense’s production hits the brakes any time a different quarterback is playing. If McDaniel needs a second reliable signal-caller he can depend on, why haven’t the Dolphins done anything about this? Is he and Grier not having conversations about which quarterbacks are needed to properly run this offense?
Instead, the cupboard remained barren for the Dolphins entering the season behind Tagovailoa.
Initially, they turned to former seventh-round back Skylar Thompson, who flamed out rather quickly after beating out Mike White — who was cut before the season — for the backup job at training camp. In his lone start in Week 3, Miami scored just three points and averaged 3.7 yards per play. Then, Tyler Huntley, who was signed shortly after the Tagovailoa injury, has started the previous three games to middling results at best. He then suffered a shoulder injury last week against Indianapolis, which thrust Tim Boyle into the fold.
Coming off an offseason where the likes of Ryan Tannehill, Jacoby Brissett, Jameis Winston, Jimmy Garoppolo, Joshua Dobbs and Marcus Mariota (all quarterbacks with sizable starting experience) were available, not strengthening that QB room behind Tagovailoa seems like a massive miscue for the Dolphins. And their season is at serious risk because of it, even with Tagovailoa nearing his return.
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