Dolphins To Place Tua Tagovailoa On IR

The Dolphins’ stretch without their starting quarterback will last at least three games. Tua Tagovailoa will land on IR, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

With Brian Flores indicating earlier this week additional testing revealed Tagovailoa suffered multiple fractured ribs, this is not especially surprising. Offseason addition Jacoby Brissett will now have an extended opportunity, which has become familiar for the veteran backup.

Brissett was needed as a rookie in New England, with Tom Brady‘s Deflategate suspension and a subsequent Jimmy Garoppolo injury moving Brissett into the Patriots’ lineup early in 2016. Andrew Luck‘s troublesome shoulder injury thrust Brissett into a full-time starting role, after a late-summer trade, in 2017. After Luck’s return the following year sent Brissett back to the bench, the Indianapolis franchise QB’s sudden 2019 retirement brought on another year of full-time QB1 duty for the former third-round pick. Philip Rivers kept Brissett on the Colts’ bench throughout 2020, but he will now have three more games to use as a potential audition for a 2022 gig. Brissett, 28, signed a one-year, $5MM deal in March.

For Tagovailoa, this continues a less-than-ideal start to his NFL career. The former Alabama superstar became the Dolphins’ starting quarterback last season but saw Flores yank him for Ryan Fitzpatrick in multiple games. As Tagovailoa was believed to be progressing on multiple fronts this offseason, Deshaun Watson trade rumors persisted. They have not exactly died down. And this latest Tua setback may intensify rumblings the Dolphins will look to bring in the embattled Texans QB.

Tua will miss Dolphins games against the Raiders, Colts and Buccaneers. A Week 6 Jaguars matchup stands as the second-year passer’s next opportunity, though it is not certain he will be ready to return by then.

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