The Miami Dolphins may have finally had enough of the Tua Tagovailoa experiment. The playoff-eliminating loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers may have been his last game with the team, at least for this season.
Head coach Mike McDaniel decided to roll with rookie Quinn Ewers for the remainder of the campaign, and the fact that he bypassed Zack Wilson, the other backup, might mean that they believe he can be a long-term solution at the position.
As such, Tagovailoa will most likely be either cut or traded in the offseason, and with the Pittsburgh Steelers potentially in the market for a signal-caller, he might be tangled up in some rumors.
Nevertheless, that's the last thing Steelers GM Omar Khan should be thinking about right now. The Steelers might need a quarterback, but that's definitely not Tua Tagovailoa.
The Steelers should ignore the Tua Tagovailoa sweepstakes
Tagovailoa is no longer the mobile quarterback he was in college. His hip injury limited his mobility and explosiveness, and he's now become more of a pocket passer.
However, his processing time and decision-making, even when given a clean pocket, have been subpar to say the least. He even admitted that he's not big enough to see over the defense, which is why he's put the ball in harm's way so often.
More than that, Tagovailoa doesn't make up for his size limitations with a strong arm. He constantly underthrows his wide receivers, and he's even been unapologetic about them, urging them to make adjustments mid-route.
That gets us to the next point. Tagovailoa threw his teammates and coaches under the bus multiple times this season, and while accountability matters, he failed to talk about how his shortcomings constantly held the offense back.
Last but not least, we're talking about a quarterback who has missed games with concussions way too many times already. He's been hit hard and often, with four documented concussions in his NFL career, but potentially many more.
He's not durable, doesn't boast an elite arm, and there are some questions about his leadership, so why would the Steelers even bother?
Granted, neither Will Howard nor Mason Rudolph might be long-term solutions at the position, either, and the Steelers won't be in a position to get a franchise quarterback in the NFL Draft.
That being said, this team seems long overdue for a rebuild, even if that costs Mike Tomlin his precious non-losing-season record.