BREAKING NEWS : Dolphins Predicted to Trade for Former No. 3 Pick QB in ‘Mini-Blockbuster’ Deal

Tua Tagovailoa is expected to return, but figures to have trouble staying healthy

When it comes to the Miami Dolphins and their quarterback situation heading into Week 7, and beyond, there are two tracks that are running parallel and are both at play. The first is when we will see Tua Tagovailoa back on the field in Miami. The second is, what is the Dolphins’ long-term plan to back up Tagovailoa, assuming he does play again soon?

On Sept. 12, Tagovailoa suffered a concussion, the third of his NFL career and fourth of his football career (he suffered one in college at Alabama). While there originally were suggestions that Tagovailoa would or should hang up his cleats and retire, that has quickly been shot down.

He is eligible to come off injured reserve as soon as Week 8, and coach Mike McDaniel said this week that he expects Tagovailoa to play this year.

But the concussion exposed the Dolphins lack of planning in finding a backup for Tagovailoa. That’s going to need to change, because the two quarterbacks Miami brought in—Skylar Thompson and Tyler Huntley—just have not shown themselves to be good enough to start in the NFL.

Ngày 12 tháng 9 năm 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, Hoa Kỳ; Tiền vệ Tua Tagovailoa (1) của Miami Dolphins bước vào sân trước trận đấu với Buffalo Bills tại Sân vận động Hard Rock. Tín dụng bắt buộc: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

But there’s someone who might have that ability, and probably will be available ahead of the Nov. 5 trade deadline: former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance.

On “The Spotrac Podcast,” NFL contract guru and site managing editor Mike Ginnitti said that thought there has been chatter about Bryce Young being dealt to Miami, the likely outcome was Lance backing up Tagovailoa.

Asked by host Brandon Kravitz for his “mini-blockbuster” trade ahead of the deadline, Ginnitti went with Lance, acknowledging it’s not exactly a blockbuster as things stand.

“I think that the Dallas Cowboys will trade Trey Lance to the Miami Dolphins. I think this has to happen,” Ginnitti said. “I don’t think it’s Bryce Young because I think the world knows that Bryce Young can’t play. I am not sure that the world is out on Trey Lance yet. I genuinely think that this dude is just sitting with a clipboard and he is keeping himself in shape and he has not been given the proper opportunity.”

Lance was drafted third in 2021, but injuries and the surprising rise of Brock Purdy limited him to four starts before he was traded to Dallas in 2023. But Lance has not played for the Cowboys, and after showing some positive flashes in the preseason, is No. 3 on the depth chart behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush.

“I realize he flamed out in San Francisco, but that is a complicated system,” Ginnitti said. “It really is. That is something that you have got to be mental—90% mental and then 10% physically gifted to get down, because that’s just how things work in that offense.”