Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa has ideas scattered around the bench

Tua Tagovailoa’s bench press?

Yes, that’s coming from more than one national football analyst after the Miami Dolphins’ blowout loss to the Arizona Cardinals, with Tua back in the lineup and a looming matchup with Buffalo that would leave Miami with a 2 record – 6 – and hopes for the playoffs have practically disappeared – short of what could very well be one of the greatest upset wins in franchise history..

Former NFL player Chris Canty and Warren Sharpe Incisive football analysis both suggested this idea.

Sharpe wrote in his weekly NFL power rankings: “Miami’s current record raises the question of whether it should be benched to look forward to 2025.”

Canty detailed his thought process on an ESPN radio show. Unsportsmanlike.

“The Dolphins should bench Tua, and it’s not because Tua didn’t play well (Sunday),” Canty said Monday. “He was fine. But the risk is simply not worth the reward. The Dolphins currently only have an eight percent chance of making the playoffs. It’s now more likely that he suffers another injury than the Dolphins making the postseason. .If they hit a random tank, it’s not ideal, it just makes sense to lean against it.

“I know Dolphins fans don’t want to hear this, but why would you put your franchise quarterback at risk? Why do you continue to jeopardize Tua after you guaranteed him $167 million in his contract extension? It just doesn’t make any sense. I don’t think the juice is worth it. You lost to the Cardinals and I felt like that was the last gasp of your season. Now it’s time to be smart and think about the future. “

If the Dolphins beat Buffalo for the first time since 2016, everything else in this column can be ignored.

But if they lose, the Dolphins will practically have to make the playoffs. Two days later, the NFL trade deadline could bring a pair of deals to move veterans who aren’t in the 2025 plans. Emmanuel Ogbah and Calais Campbell are two names that immediately come to mind..

Trades like these will help the Dolphins gain draft capital and bounce back in 2025 and beyond, but they will hinder the team’s already long-term efforts to make the playoffs.

The Dolphins have Tagovailoa as their quarterback for at least the next couple of years, and the last thing they need is for him to suffer another injury, let alone another concussion, while they play their team back in 2024, if this is true. they come down to.

Perhaps increased playing time will give Skylar Thompson (or maybe even C.J. Beathard) a chance to prove – beyond a shadow of a doubt – that they can run the offense, and reduce the need for upgrades at the backup quarterback position next offseason.

Of course, it’s not that simple… well, because it never is.

First, how would a current Tua—even though it might be in the best interest of the franchise—get along with some of the senior veterans on the team? How would guys like Tyreek Hill and Jalen Ramsey react to this scenario?

And judging by his comments at the press conference signaling his return to training, do we really think Tua will be on board with the idea?

And how will any or all of this affect already irritated and frustrated fans over the unenviable “honor” of having the longest playoff drought in the NFL?

Or will it matter to fans by then if the playoffs – and obviously winning the playoffs – are no longer on the agenda?

One thing is for sure: all of these scenarios are pretty unattractive.