The latest run of Deshaun Watson-to-Miami rumors has prompted Brian Flores to once again throw his support behind incumbent Tua Tagovailoa. Friday, the third-year Dolphins coach offered the latest such endorsement.
“Tua is our quarterback. I’m happy with our quarterback,” Flores said, adding that the second-year passer still has a chance to become a great NFL QB (via ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, on Twitter). “I don’t really get into rumors. We’re happy with our quarterback situation, and I’ll leave it at that.”
Linked to the Dolphins before the civil and criminal matters encircled him this offseason, Watson is believed to be on board with a trade to Miami — should one materialize. And the three-time Pro Bowler once again became a Dolphins talking point after a preseason report of Stephen Ross being willing to roll the dice on the embattled Texans passer surfaced. This week, word emerged the Texans and Dolphins are once again discussing a deal. Naturally, Tagovailoa’s status has come up again.
Coming into the NFL after a severe hip injury, Tagovailoa suffered broken ribs early this season but returned last week. The second-year southpaw missed the minimum three games while on IR and threw for 329 yards while completing 70% of his passes in Miami’s loss to Jacksonville in London. But the Watson rumors continue to overshadow his career. Some in the Dolphins organization are expressing doubt about Tagovailoa, leading to stronger connections to Watson.
Of course, the decision to trade for Watson would be above Flores’ paygrade. Ross would ultimately give the green light in this case, and while such a move would be somewhat controversial and obviously risky given Watson’s status, the Dolphins would upgrade considerably at quarterback. This would result in the team bailing on Tagovailoa quickly, however, and giving up considerable draft capital to do so.
A trade would also prove interesting for the Dolphins, given their 1-5 record. But a Watson deal would be a play for the Dolphins’ future, which is suddenly looking cloudy after the team’s 10-6 showing in 2020. Unless Watson is dealt to another team, rumors about Tua’s status will continue until the Nov. 2 trade deadline.
Queue up the Terrell Owens memes….
The Chargers are grinning ear to ear.
Why would the Chargers care about this?
Because they would have drafted Tagovailoa if the Dolphins drafted Justin Herbert like they should have
Kiss of death.
Denver will trade you Teddy Bridgewater and a used Gatorade cooler for Tua.
Too one sided for Miami. Denver will have to put more into the deal.
What else is Flores going to say if we’re being honest?
It’s sad that people are ready to move on from a young QB who doesn’t even have a full season under his belt. Just because another young QB, Herbert, is having early success doesn’t mean Tua won’t have success at all
Tua like Tannehill will have to get away from Miami to reach his full potential.
Tua can’t stay on the field to have success & it was a huge mistake for the Grier & Flores to draft Tua instead of Justin
It can also be argued that he can’t stay on the field due to no protection and quality weapons like Herbert has in San Diego.
We also forget that he played last year after undergoing a serious hip injury during college.
He’s finally healthy this season and his oline gets him to get destroyed in the 1Q of the 1st home game of the year.
Who’s to say that Herbert would have become the player that he is today if drafted by Miami?
The Dolphins couldn’t unlock Tannehill’s potential and the same appears to be happening with Tua so your question is quite valid.
NFL stands for “Not For Long”- Jerry Glanville
The Dolphins should steer clear of Deshaun Watson because he has trouble written all over him especially since he is facing suspension & possible prison time