Dolphins Should Take A Long Look At Next Year’s Quarterback Class

Dolphins Should Take A Long Look At Next Year’s Quarterback Class

I like Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and have been a fan of him since coming out of Alabama. I know he has his shortcomings, such as his size and durability concerns. I think right now the Dolphins are at a crossroads with him, and they should take a long look at the quarterbacks coming out in next April’s NFL Draft, as this class has more talent than last year’s class.

The Dolphins may be in the right position to possibly take one the way things are going this season. 

I know the Dolphins gave Tagovailoa a new contract just over a year ago, so the team is probably stuck with him for at least another year, but the team had a chance to restructure his contract in the offseason and didn’t do it. It’s hard for me to come to this conclusion, but I felt a couple of years ago the Dolphins shouldn’t have given him that big contract and let him play out his 5th year option. 

In 2023, Tagovailoa played the entire season and didn’t miss a game, which is a significant achievement for him. However, one of the biggest red flags for me was when the Dolphins had injuries and eventually choked away the AFC East with a 9-3 record in December, because Tagovailoa didn’t raise his level of play to get the Dolphins the division title.

I know there was plenty of blame to go around for that ending, but whether it’s fair or not, it all starts with the quarterback, and unlike last year, he was available and playing in those games, and he didn’t come up big in those games when the team needed him to. 

Last Sunday’s loss to the New England Patriots was the latest example of Tagovailoa falling short late in games with the team trailing and having the ball late in the 4th quarter. Teams need a quarterback who can come up big late in the 4th quarter to get their team a win. 

Tagovailoa didn’t do that, and when he has the ball in his hands late in the game, I don’t have any confidence that he can lead this team down the field for a winning score, and that’s a problem. Sure, there are a couple of games he has, such as the 2022 game against the Baltimore Ravens and the 2023 games against the Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Cowboys, but there have been too many other times when he has come up short. He came up short in 2023 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, and Buffalo Bills.

There are other examples, and last Sunday was the latest.