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Can Miami Survive a Month Without Tua at QB?

Originally posted on Dolphins Talk | By Mike Oliva | Last updated Sep 16, 2024 12:43 PM ET

Can Miami Survive a Month Without Tua at QB?

Tua Tagovailoa is going to miss time. How much time is still yet to be determined.

But one can make an educated guess that it will be more than one or two games, and the odds of him being placed on IR this week and missing “at least” four games is probably a safe assumption.

So, for the sake of this article, let’s assume Tua will miss four games. Can Skylar Thompson or Tyler Huntley lead Miami to one or two victories?

If Miami goes 0-4 during that stretch and sits at 1-5, the season is over, and there is no digging out of that hole.

But if Miami can go 2-2 or even 1-3 and is sitting at 3-3 or 2-4, not all hope is lost.

I know right now that you feel hopeless if you’re a fan of this team. Through two games, the offensive line has been disastrous, your starting quarterback has gone down with another concussion, the backup quarterback has not shown he is capable, and the defense just got run over by the Buffalo Bills last week.

Now, factor in a cross-country trip to Seattle, followed by another primetime game against the Tennessee Titans, who are 0-2 but could easily be 2-0. Oh yeah, by the way, they came into your building late last year on Monday Night Football and beat you. Yeah, I get why Dolphins fans are feeling in the dumps.

If (again, IF) Tua is placed on IR, he will miss games at Seattle, Tennessee, at New England, and at Indianapolis at minimum. If he were to miss five or six games, he would miss a home game vs Arizona and at Buffalo.

With Tyler Huntley now in the fold for the Dolphins at quarterback, even though it will take him a week or two for him to understand the playbook and get into the mix, I think Dolphins’ fans will feel some more optimism in the short-term.

Huntley did go to the Pro Bowl in 2022 and had some real game experience on a good team.

But make no mistake about it: Huntley isn’t Tua, and the drop-off will be significant. So, how Miami stays afloat during this next 4-6 game stretch will have fallout.

I feel the number of games Tua misses and Miami wins/loses will factor into other players’ decisions.

If Bradley Chubb is expected to return in late October/early November, but Miami is 2-7 at the time, is it worth Chubb playing at all this season, especially if he is racing to come back being less than 100%?

If this latest Terron Armstead injury keeps him out multiple weeks, is it worth racing him back to block for Skylar Thompson on a team with a losing record and a very slim chance of making the playoffs?

These are questions we don’t have answers to today, September 16th, but ones that will arise if Tua is out a month and Skylar Thompson can’t lead Miami to a couple of victories.

This article first appeared on Dolphins Talk and was syndicated with permission.

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