Dolphins Trade Pitch Nets 8-Time Pro Bowl QB to Replace Tua Tagovailoa
The Miami Dolphins have a Formula 1 car on offense, but no quarterback qualified to drive it with Tua Tagovailoa sidelined by yet another concussion. Backup QB Skylar Thompson has had a couple of nice moments in his NFL career, but betting on him to carry the Dolphins offense to the promised land is a wager the franchise is likely to lose.
The best evidence of that is his playoff performance against the Buffalo Bills a couple of years back, in which Thompson went 18-of-45 for 220 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs and 4 sacks in a 34-31 loss that the Dolphins probably win with Tagovailoa under center. As such, Dan Graziano of ESPN authored a trade proposal on Friday, September 20, in which the Pittsburgh Steelers deal eight-time Pro Bowl QB Russell Wilson to the Dolphins to fill in for Tagovailoa long-term.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson. © Barry Reeger-Imagn Images © Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
The Miami quarterback is on the injured reserve list (IR) due to his concussion and will miss at least the next four games, though that number could increase as he has now suffered several concussions over the course of his career. Wilson (calf) is too hurt to play right now, and by the time he’s healthy, there’s a non-zero chance Justin Fields will have secured the starting job in Pittsburgh full time. If that happens, would the Steelers move Wilson to a desperate team with an injured QB looking to save its season? If they stay in contention and find out Tagovailoa isn’t coming back this season, the Dolphins will be looking for signal-caller options. The [Las Vegas] Raiders or any contender that suffers an unforeseen injury to its starter in October probably would poke around on Wilson, too. Wilson hasn’t been a Pro Bowler since 2021. However, he has played in two Super Bowls and won one ring during his previous dozen seasons in the NFL. The quarterback also topped 3,000 yards passing in both 2022 and 2023 with the Denver Broncos and threw for 42 TDs against 19 INTs over that span.
