NFL Insider Mike Sando of The Athletic posited a bizarre scenario in which the Miami Dolphins trade Tua Tagovailoa for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins this offseason.
“ Trade Tua, sign Cousins: The equation here is that Cousins and a draft pick (or picks) would be better than continuing with Tagovailoa. The Dolphins do not have third- or fourth-round picks in the upcoming draft, so they could use the capital. Cousins, a free agent in March, would have to prioritize Miami as his preferred landing spot, which seemingly would be easy for him, given what the Dolphins offer in terms of McDaniel’s personality, the scheme and weaponry.”
According to Sando, an unnamed NFL Executive agreed with his philosophy:
“Your upside with Tua certainly seems limited,” an exec said, “so let’s say you can trade him. I would be exploring, ‘OK, Tua, we can win games with, probably not winning a championship with. Kirk Cousins, we can win games with, probably not winning a championship with. But our resources are better spent on Cousins plus draft picks than they are on just Tua.
If you like Cousins and you can sign him to a three- or four-year deal and you can trade Tua for a couple of draft picks, that to me is a different type of path forward,” the first exec said. “I don’t know if it is the best one. You really have to be in that building to know, but if you are looking for alternatives, there is a pretty good one.”
Miami Dolphins Up-and-Down 2023 Season
Following a historic 3-0 start to the regular season, including a 70-20 thrashing of the Denver Broncos in week three, the Miami Dolphins would win only three of their next six games and have an up-and-down season the rest of the way.
The Dolphins’ season would come to an end at the hands of Super Bowl Champions Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in a notoriously frigid AFC Wild Card round game.