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?