The Draw Play

Tua Turndaballova has become TuaDaBenchWarma. No. You know what? I will not apologize for that. You’re gonna have to live with it.

In a move that surprised me but probably shouldn’t have, Tua has been benched. The Dolphins have elected to spend the remains of their season starting 7th-round rookie QB/Kraven the Hunter Quinn Ewers. The Dolphins season is over. Mike McDaniel was supposedly given the green light when the GM was fired, so it’s possible his job is not actually in danger and now he’s shutting Tua down in order to see what the rookie has. Probably to judge just how seriously they need to take the position into account this offseason.

Tua’s not going anywhere (probably). His cap hit is staggering. The only thing the Dolphins can do is take a huge punishment or see if any team is willing to trade for him. It’s a sad, unceremonious end to a roller coaster career. But Tua just…isn’t good. Whatever potential is there is buried under years of brain trauma and failure. He’s only good in garbage time once the pressure is off. He can’t win in cold weather. He’s just…not good.

That isn’t to say it’s over. He might still be salvageable. Trevor Lawrence was being regarded as a letdown until the latter half of this season when he has really turned it on. Tua is probably toast in Miami but if he does leave, he might have places where he can succeed. He has the ability. The Steelers? He’s functional enough that he could be a decent fit there. The Vikings? Possibly, though he’d probably have to stay a backup since McCarthy is playing *passable* football now. The Raiders? Well, it’s at least warm weather. The Jets? Well, death comes for us all. Maybe the Cardinals can trade Tua for Kyler straight up.

Comedy option: make him Herbert’s backup