ClutchPoints
Is this officially the end of an era in Miami. After a crushing loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami has made the decision to bench quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa has been demoted to be the QB3, with Quinn Ewers starting in Week 16 and Zach Wilson backing up Ewers.
Tua has played horribly over the last few weeks, struggling to make easy throws and throwing multiple interceptions in a single game. Despite his struggles, there are still those who defend the Dolphins quarterback. Analyst Dan Orlovsky is one of those defenders, saying that there must be another reason why Tagovailoa was benched this season.
“It can’t just be about [how Tua’s] had a bad season,” Orlovsky said on ESPN today. “There has to be things behind the scene that [the Dolphins] know internally.”
Once considered as one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the league, Tagovailoa’s play has regressed significantly this season. He’s thrown a league-leading 15 interceptions this season and has thrown more “bad balls” according to Pro Football Reference (15.9%, down from 11.5% last season). Part of his regression can be attributed to poor O-Line play, but even in his tape, we can see just how far Tagovailoa has fallen.
Tagovailoa’s benching could also indicate the end of his NFL career as a starter. Miami’s decision to start Ewers over Wilson shows that they’re looking to get better draft position, presumably to pick a quarterback. It’s not quite clear yet where Tagovailoa will play next season, given his gargantuan contract and the difficulty in moving said contract.
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