Will the Watson Talk Stop This Offseason?
It’s been Watson, Watson, Watson since the offseason… when will it finally end?
Right now, the Miami Dolphins are one of the hottest teams in the NFL! Not only is the defense back to their 2020 form and playing lights, but Tua has been accurate and efficient. Even head coach Brian Flores is getting a reprieve from the hot seat by most fans and the media. The script really has flipped over these last few weeks.
Tua is certainly one of the most polarizing players in the NFL and mostly gets extreme criticism or praise. However, after a lackluster 2020, Tua has improved markedly in Year 2. Still, this offseason and Regular Season has been swamped by talk of the Dolphins trading for Deshaun Watson. Even though it’s died down, you have to wonder when it will comeback to the forefront of Phins media coverage?
We can only hope that that it will die! But, doesn’t it feels like the ‘Watson to Dolphins’ rumour mill will rise like Jason Voorhees over and over without end.
Watson to Dolphins rumors reports are been beating a dead horse
To Tua’s credit, he has had to deal with the Watson rumors and been an absolute professional. Maybe it’s no coincidence that after the trade deadline passed, and Miami didn’t make a trade for Watson, Tua has played his best football and there’s no public questioning if Tua is the starter.
Over these three and half games Tua has thrown for 5 touchdowns, 1 interception, ran for 1 touchdown, passed for 955 yards and completed 77.9% of his passes, been sacked 5 times, and the Dolphins are 4-0 in those games. He clearly has looked a lot more comfortable, shown better command of the offense, has gotten the ball out very fast, and has avoided the negative play. So, despite the dink and dunk, he proving successful and averaging 7.1 yards per pass which isn’t bad at all. Consider, Tom Brady has a 7.5 average, Mahomes 7.3, Josh Allen 7.1, and Mat Ryan 6.9.
If given more time, the potential is there for Tua to grow a lot more and prove he’s our franchise QB, manning the position for years to come. However, I am realistic, the real obstacle for him is just staying healthy. This is the biggest wildcard. Regardless, Miami should do Tua a favor this offseason and flat out say they are not interested in Watson. Miami needs to focus on continuing the development of the higher character player who they drafted 5th overall.
Dolphins MUST build around Tua this offseason and not romance Watson
This upcoming offseason should be about improving the offensive line and running game for Miami. The Dolphins used last offseason to add pass catchers and it didn’t bring what Miami needed the most. Last free agency period I said that the #1 target for Miami should be center Corey Lindsey. Instead, Miami choose to spend similar money on Will Fuller, who will probably go down as one of the biggest bust free agent signings ever in Miami. Lindsey on the other and is playing like his usual stud self.
Miami is projected to currently have the second most cap space in the entire league for 2022 with around $75 million, which doesn’t even include players they are not re-signing. For starters Miami needs to make it a priority to re-sign Gesicki and Ogbah, then it should be all about signing the top two free agent offensive lineman, preferably two tackles, and a big bruising productive running back.
If Miami can do this and actually target the right players to upgrade this O-line and run game, it will make Tua’s life so much easier and put him in the position to continue his upward growth projection. Most of the best price per head bookie service are still 50/50 on whether Tua is the long term answer. However, if Miami can improve on the offensive line and give him some semblance of a running game, there’s no reason to doubt his potential. The question is, does the Miami brass have what it takes to finally fix their decade old problem of a poor offensive line and run game?
What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins news fans thoughts on Tua’s progress and if the Watson noise will be shut down for good after this season?
Love the article, I agree about the o-line and also the RB’s. I was hopeful that we were going to draft N.Harris with our 18th pick this past draft instead of where we went with the o-line pick. Yes we needed help on the o-line and still do, but with the cap money we have available to be sure we can steal a top notch tackle or guard away from the team they are on currently on. Jackson we have found out is not the answer although I’ll say he’s played better at the guard position than at tackle. One other thing I’ll say is I didn’t get the Fuller trade to begin with because he was always on the injury report while with the Texans and as you mentioned probably the biggest bust Miami’s ever had. Finally,to me Gesicki is the “BEST” tight end in the NFL,pay the man. GO FINS!!!
Jimmy,
Forget Watson. Great QB, but he will cost a ton! We will mortgage the farm for the next 5 seasons. How will we compete with no early round draft picks and little salary cap available? Just my thoughts!
Jimmy,
I agree completely. We can’t fully evaluate Tua if he is our man or not without a solid OL and strong running game. Tannehill had neither and he struggled. Now with Titans he looks like a Pro Bowl QB. Let’s not forget that he also had horrible coaching as well (Philbin & Gase).
The OL and the running game need to be first priority in the draft and FA! I say with our first two picks we go tackle/tackle. Maybe a tackle/center. Early on we need to draft a “bellcow” RB too. Big, powerful, fast, run inside or out! Gaskin, Amed, Lindsay, are excellent, but they are good change of pace backs. These guys are 200 pounders and not the needed 230!
My problem is Grier can’t find Ols in FA or the draft… he might find a good one this year though… there are a ton early… but, the SF pick is getting higher and higher and that means Grier will have to be better and better to get a good one… and I don’t have any faith in that. Gaskin is fine if he had a compliment runner. He isn’t a bellcow… but, I don’t think that’s nearly as important as the OL, Stephen. If we hit on a good runner late like NE did with Stevenson, great! But, this FO will need every blue chip pick they can get to find even one good OL. Right now we need 3 OLs to get this line right. Davis would be fine at guard, but Jackson, Hunt, Eich are all guards… Center? Dieter isn’t more than a stop gap. So we need at least 2 Ts and a C. Are we even sure Eich can play G? He looks terrible… who knows?
I hope the Dolphins management reads and follows your advise. It is right on
I agree 100% with you
I would add a solid center to the list ….
Can you imagine Tua’s numbers with a good offensive line that gives him more time to be able to go deep ….
And a running game to keep defenses honest
Center would be key… jimmy was on him like white on rice this offseason… I missed him hitting FA. Tua would exponentially be better with a better OL… this is the worst OL I have ever watched as a fan. Terrible! Ralph, my concern is Grier can’t find good Ols it’s not in him… not in FA or the draft. Jimmy thinks he can… not me. Too much history says he can’t. I hope I am wrong though… Grier will be back!!!