So, this is a follow-up to my debut article here on Dolphins Talk, where I went over the three reasons why I believe the Miami Dolphins’ Super Bowl window is rapidly closing, sort of a part two to that one. Today, I will focus solely on one Tuanigamanuolepola Donny Tagovailoa. Yes, I used his entire name, but I had to just to make it sound better. Anyway, here are three reasons why I believe he is not the quarterback that can do it, and the reason he can. So without further ado, let’s take a deep dive into it.
Injury History
Tua’s long injury history began before his days of chucking up deep balls to Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, but back when he and Jaylen Waddle were teammates at Alabama, back when he had Devonta Smith to throw to as well. People forget Tua threw one of the most memorable college football touchdown passes in recent memory in 2018 to the aforementioned Devonta Smith against Georgia in that season’s college football playoff national championship game, back before it is what it is now, with twelve teams competing for the title in college football. He also suffered a hip injury in November of 2019 that dropped his draft stock, hinting at why Joe Burrow went first overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. That is why he gets drafted fifth overall to the Miami Dolphins in 2020, and at first, every Dolphins fan, like they were when they traded for the aforementioned Tyreek Hill for a ton of picks, reacted like we just won the Super Bowl, trust me, I did as well. But then he gets to the NFL, and this ain’t like college, and he starts taking hits and getting concussions, and we know he has suffered at least three, maybe four, of them so far.
The reason is that he may have suffered one in their win against the Buffalo Bills in 2022, which feels like a lifetime ago, but it was only three years ago, basically. Going back to the hip thing, he also had a hip injury in November 2024 in their week 15 game against the Houston Texans. A game that a few of my fellow Dolfan friends were at, shout out to them by the way. Tua left that game with a hip injury, like I said, but he was able to finish the game. The following week against the 49ers, he played despite the injury. Before the final two games, weeks 17 and 18, he was inactive, thus leading to the Dolphins finishing 8-9 last season. If Tua could stay healthy like he did in 2023, the Miami Dolphins would be in a much better situation with Uce at the controls of their cheat motion offense.
Lack of Offensive Line
While the Miami Dolphins somewhat addressed the offensive line this offseason, they still have holes on it that could be exposed by better interior defensive line players like Milton Williams of the New England Patriots, Ed Oliver of the Buffalo Bills, and Chris Jones of the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs. What do all three of these players have in common, you ask? They are incredible talents at defensive tackle, and do not get me wrong, Zach Sieler is good too, but he ain’t like these boys. If the Miami Dolphins wanted to really double down on the offensive line, guys like James Daniels and Larry Borrom, along with Liam Eichenberg, who, by the way, they traded up to select Eichenberg in the 2021 NFL Draft, the same draft they took Jaylen Waddle with the sixth overall pick.
Basically, Tua just has not had a proper offensive line to protect him in his entire Dolphins career, which explains why he has to get the ball out super fast in under 2.3 seconds, or else he either takes a sack or he has no choice but to scramble for yards. We all know Tua is not like Lamar Jackson in terms of his speed and dual-threat ability; he is more like a Tom Brady in a way, but a more fragile version of him. He is a great pocket passer but can not scramble much since he does not have time to dissect the defense, let alone slide to avoid taking hits. The crazy thing is when he does slide, which I am sure he knows how to, he gets a massive ovation for it, and the crowd chants his name at Hard Rock Stadium. I am just thinking of all the possible what-if scenarios if he had a proper offensive line and not the average one he has had, and the one he may still have in 2025, but we will have to wait and see how the whole offensive line plays and develops chemistry together.
Lack of a True Backup Plan
Earlier, I mentioned Tua’s injury history. Well, a good team and the true Super Bowl contenders in this league have an elite backup quarterback like former Dolphins quarterback in 2011, Chad Henne, who backed up Patrick Mahomes at Kansas City primarily from 2018 to 2022. Ironically, Henne, who was another failed quarterback with the Dolphins who came and went, played crucial and clutch snaps in Kansas City, leading them to wins against the Cleveland Browns and the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021 and 2022, respectively, before retiring after Super Bowl LVII.
Imagine if the Dolphins had a backup like Chad Henne was with Kansas City, they would have probably won a few more games in 2024 and possibly would have made the playoffs. Same thing in 2022 if the Dolphins did not have to rely on Skylar Thompson, and the same thing in 2024, but this time throw in Tyler Huntley, who, if he is still on the roster by the time the season starts, will be their third-string quarterback. That is who Skylar Thompson and Tyler Huntley are in my eyes: a third-string quarterback. Do I think Zach Wilson is the long-term solution to the backup quarterback problem? We will have to wait and see how he does in 2025, just like it always is with this team.
So, How Does Tua Lead Them To That Promiseland
The way Tua can lead the Dolphins to the Promised Land or a Super Bowl championship is if the structure around him is absolutely perfect, just like 1972, though they do not have to win every game. Allow me to explain, Tua at best just needs to throw some dots accurately like he has, limit the interceptions and fumbles for starters. Then, he has to rely on his playmakers like Tyreek Hill, who somehow showed up to work recently despite his off-the-field issues, De’von Achane, Jaylen Waddle, Jonnu Smith, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine to make plays on the ball. Sometimes Tua needs to do things himself, like scrambling for a first down and stuff like that, as well as sliding to avoid contact.
He can not be forcing deep balls downfield to Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle; he instead needs to look for the open receiver, which is why Jonnu Smith and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine are here in the first place. He can also check it down to De’von Achane if need be, as well, or worst case scenario, no one is open, you throw it away after getting out of the tackle box to avoid an intentional grounding penalty to avoid taking a sack. I do this practice in Madden all the time it is why I am really good at the game. If Tua does the things I just mentioned, as well as most importantly, STAY HEALTHY, he will be a much better quarterback than he already is. He just needs to believe in himself more if he wants to be a better quarterback.
Final Thoughts
So we established Tua’s injury history, the lack of an offensive line, the lack of a backup plan, and finally, how he can lead them to a championship. I established that he has to stay healthy in order for the Dolphins to succeed. As well as going over his past injury history to show that yes, he is injury prone, but with a proper offensive line, he can be great in this league. Another thing I mentioned was the fact that they do not have a true backup plan if he does get hurt. That pressure on the backup quarterback position relies on one Zach Wilson for now.
Lastly, I mentioned how he can take them to the Super Bowl and possibly win the big game. All Tua needs to do is the things I mentioned, and possibly in the next few years, they might be bringing the Vince Lombardi Trophy back to South Florida.
