Dolphins Not “Opposed” To Tua Tagovailoa Playing As Rookie

Will Tua Tagovailoa take the field for the Miami Dolphins as a rookie? I think most people, myself included, didn’t know if or when Tua was going to play this year. That still probably remains the case. The idea of Tua redshirting doesn’t sound like the plan. It seems like he’s going to take the field at some point.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald had this:

“One person who spoke to the Dolphins’ front office came away with the impression that while it’s likely Fitzpatrick will begin the season as the starter, Miami isn’t opposed to playing Tagovailoa as a rookie if he earns the opportunity at some point this season.

The expectation of Fitzpatrick starting the opener and beyond is based on the fact he has not only infinitely more experience than Tagovailoa, but five years of experience in offensive coordinator Chan Gailey’s system, and also the fact that Tagovailoa cannot do on-field work with Dolphins coaches because of the lack of an offseason program. But if Tagovailoa impresses coaches, they’re not at all opposed to playing him this season.”

Personally, if I’m Miami, I probably redshirt him. I would want to collect on one more high draft pick and really rebuild this offensive line. It’s a unit that gave up the most pressures in the NFL. One more draft to really build a respectable unit. Whoever lines up at quarterback is going to face a ton of heat. This offensive line stinks with or without the new draft class.

More than anything, the performance of Ryan Fitzpatrick is going to be the real indicator. If Fitzpatrick can find a way to win games, I would guess he keeps the job for a while. I’m not sure Josh Rosen factors in at all but if Miami really wanted to redshirt Tua, I think reports would surface they want to keep Rosen. That doesn’t appear to be the case.

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