There is going to be a lot of attention on the Miami Dolphins this offseason. They spent a lot of money and draft capital to upgrade their weapons offensively, bringing in an entirely new group of running backs and upgrading the wide receiver position.
Tyreek Hill was the biggest upgrade, as he was acquired via trade from the Kansas City Chiefs. Cedrick Wilson Jr. was signed in free agency away from the Dallas Cowboys to join Jaylen Waddle at wide receiver.
In the backfield, Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert and Sony Michel were signed, joining holdovers Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed. This was all done to help quarterback Tua Tagovailoa take his performance to the next level.
Tagovailoa was selected fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. He has had some ups and downs thus far in his career but has a winning record, going 13-8 thus far. The biggest obstacle that he will be faced with throughout his career is being compared to Justin Herbert, who was selected sixth overall by the Los Angeles Chargers and has set records through two seasons in the NFL.
The Dolphins are hoping that Tagovailoa can start making an impact this season as well and the new weapons at his disposal will certainly help. If he is unable to get the job done, Miami could start looking elsewhere for a long-term option at the quarterback position.
Mike Tannenbaum, a former front office member of the New York Jets and Dolphins, believes Jimmy Garoppolo is someone that the Dolphins should consider acquiring as insurance at the quarterback position.
“If Tua stumbles and those first four games are difficult … Jimmy Garoppolo may not just be the best solution in September of 2022, but he may be the best solution for the next three years.”
That is certainly a hot take from Tannenbaum. If Garoppolo was that good, the San Francisco 49ers wouldn’t have traded up to select Trey Lance No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft and selected him to be their starter over Garoppolo for the upcoming 2022 season.
To be fair, Garoppolo did lead the 49ers to two NFC Championship Games, even winning the first one that they advanced to. But he was mostly used as a game manager with Kyle Shanahan relying heavily on the running game to get the offense going.
Garoppolo may help them this season in a pinch, but if the Dolphins do move on from Tagovailoa, they would likely aim higher than Garoppolo beyond 2022. The Dolphins also have a very good backup quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater on the roster already, so targeting Garoppolo would make very little sense.
