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The health of Tua Tagovailoa is transcending football and stirring innumerable retirement conversations. Concerns will continue to be expressed and debates will rage on, even though the Miami Dolphins' Pro Bowl quarterback reportedly intends to keep playing in the NFL. There is little the organization can do to curb public opinion in the aftermath of Tagovailoa's third official concussion.
The Dolphins can bolster their roster in his anticipated absence, however. They are signing QB Tyler “Snoop” Huntley off the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
Huntley, an undrafted talent out of Utah, is most known for filling in for Lamar Jackson in the final stretch of the 2022-23 campaign. He made some impressive plays in the AFC Wild Card Round but also committed costly turnovers that resulted in a bitter loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Despite starting just four regular season games and throwing more interceptions than touchdowns, Huntley was stunningly voted onto the Pro Bowl team as an alternate.
The 2019 All-Pac-12 First-Team selection is now in line to potentially assume starting duties for another injured star signal-caller. Miami head coach Mike McDaniel will presumably turn to Skylar Thompson for the team's Week 3 game against the Seattle Seahawks (2-0), but Huntley should have a chance to overtake him if Tagovailoa misses an extended period of time.
Could the Dolphins' now-uncertain QB situation have been avoided?
Thompson started when the passing yards champion last suffered a concussion in 2022, but he looked severely outmatched on the field. Tyler Huntley is not going to inspire tons of fan confidence himself, though. Therefore, one has to wonder why Dolphins general manager Chris Grier did not make more of a concentrated effort to upgrade the backup quarterback position in the offseason.
A $212.4 million contract extension is a firm declaration that a healthy Tua Tagovailoa is the franchise's long-term guy, but since management knows first-hand the injury risks that come with this specific QB, perhaps Grier should have acquired a more reliable backup ahead of time.
Of course, that last statement can admittedly be an oxymoron. A player who has been in the league for multiple seasons does not just become a backup by accident. As the Dolphins unfortunately know, it is an unstable role that will usually produce unreliable results.
While Miami waits on Tagovailoa to meet with neurologists and embark on the next step of his recovery process, it desperately hopes that either Thompson or the newly acquired Huntley can keep the team afloat.
