Dolphins Could Replace Tua With Another Alabama Quarterback

The Miami Dolphins are on the brink of a disastrous season. 2023 saw the team lead the league in offense, and the expectations for 2024 couldn't have been higher. Tua Tagovailoa, the league's leading passer last year, was supposed to finally get the Dolphins to the top of the AFC East. A headfirst dive on September 12th turned a dream season into a nightmare.

Tua suffered a concussion, putting not only the rest of 2024 into question but the rest of his career into question. Amidst calls for his retirement, the Miami backup quarterbacks have gone 0-2, managed a total of 15 points, and thrown for just 282 yards. The team needs a viable replacement for Tua if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. They need look no further than his alma mater.

Mac Jones

Reclamation project has a nice ring to it, especially for a player starting the season with the label of "bust". Mac Jones may have flamed out in New England, but it's impossible to ignore his potential. He's only 26 years old, and his football career hasn't been all bad.

In 2020, Jones completed 77.4% of his passes at Alabama for 4500 yards (both of those stats led the NCAA) and 41 touchdowns. It was a season that warranted a first-round selection, and heading into the 2021 NFL draft, there were rumors that the San Francisco 49ers were eyeing him with the third overall pick. He fell to 15, and landed with the New England Patriots.

Jones' rookie year was one of the best seen by a rookie in the last 20 years. He led the team to a 10-7 record and a playoff appearance. He completed 67.6% of his passes for 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns. After a carousel of offensive coordinators couldn't get out of him what Josh McDaniels did, Jones landed in Jacksonville, backing up Trevor Lawrence (the first pick of the 2021 draft).

The Jaguars might be willing to part ways with Jones since they only traded a 7th round pick to get him. The combination of Miami's desperation and Mac's potential could be enough to make him worth a quick flip. It might not take more than a fifth-round pick to entice Jacksonville.

Bryce Young

The player who replaced Jones at Alabama could replace Tua in Miami. Bryce Young's numbers in college dipped his junior year, but in 2021 he had a sensational season. Young completed 66.9% of his passes for 4,872 yards and 47 touchdowns that year (both led the NCAA). He may cost more than Mac Jones in a trade because Young was the first overall pick just last year.

The Panthers didn't just take Bryce with the first overall pick. They traded away a boatload of capital to get him there. If Miami were interested, it's hard to imagine the price tag being anything less than a couple of second-round picks, possibly a first. It's likely though, that the Panthers would entertain a phone call from Florida with interest in Young.

Bryce Young was recently benched in favor of Andy Dalton who has shown the problem was not with the rest of the team. He has a career completion percentage of 59.3, and he averages less than 200 yards per game. That doesn't mean he lacks talent. He won't create big plays like Mahomes and Allen, but Young might be the best game manager in the NFL. With weapons like Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Devon Achane, bringing him in could get the Dolphins into the playoffs.