The Miami Dolphins appear to be in trouble early in the 2024 season as they navigate a stretch of games without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa, who’s dealing with his latest concussion, didn’t play on Sunday in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks and will remain sidelined for at least a few more weeks.
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel argued that it may be fair to compare the Dolphins losing Tagovailoa to the Miami Heat theoretically losing star big man Bam Adebayo.
“But the Dolphins’ situation is about being able to withstand the absence of a leading man, as they cycle through Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle and perhaps, soon, Tyler Huntley at quarterback,” wrote Winderman. “In that regard, an argument could be made that the Heat could withstand an absence of Jimmy Butler, if Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier and Jaime Jaquez Jr. are on their game. But the Tua Tagovailoa-like hit for the Heat might be more akin to a protracted absence of Bam Adebayo. In that regard, I’m not sure that the combination of Kevin Love, Thomas Bryant or Kel’el Ware are positioned to compensate.”
The Dolphins are 1-2 after their loss to the Seahawks and will need to survive last least three more games without Tagovailoa. Those games will come against the Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.
To make matters worse, second-string quarterback Skylar Thompson, who started in place of Tagovailoa on Sunday, had to leave the game with an injury and reportedly wasn’t even able to dress himself afterward.
Tagovailoa has proven to be a very difficult player to replace, and when it comes to the Heat, there’s really no replacing Adebayo, either.
The big man brings too much to the table on both ends of the floor — particularly defensively — to be easily replaced if he were to miss time. Fortunately, he has done a pretty nice job of staying on the floor during most of his NBA career.
The Heat are certainly hoping that they won’t have to experience life without Adebayo in too many games this coming season. They’re going to need all hands on deck if they want to earn a spot in the championship discussion, especially after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season.
As for the Dolphins, they’re in a pretty unenviable position amid their quarterback troubles. In order to stay afloat until Tagovailoa is eligible to return, they’re likely going to need to win at least one game — and ideally more — during their upcoming stretch against the Titans, Patriots and Colts.