Tua Tagovailoa could make sense as a backup for NOLA Saints
The NOLA Saints should reach out to the Miami Dolphins about a trade for Tua Tagovailoa but not as a starter, at least not to begin with. Jameis Winston has played decent enough to hold onto the starting job but he’s only signed for this year. Trading for Tagovailoa could work though, especially if the Saints decide to trade Trevor Siemian, which would leave their backup quarterback spot vacant.
I floated the idea of the Saints trading for Tua ahead of the 2021 season and it was met with a lot of (fair) criticism. After all, the former Alabama signal-caller who went fifth overall in last year’s draft hasn’t done anything to show he’s a franchise quarterback. He’s oft-injured and when he is on the field, he hasn’t wowed.
With the Dolphins reportedly closing in on a trade for Deshaun Watson, that leaves Tua as the odd man out in South Beach. He just might not be ready to be a starter yet, so if the Saints traded for him, they could let him sit behind Winston for the rest of this season, and then maybe — just maybe — he’d be a viable starting option in 2022 and beyond.
There’s still a ton of upside with Tagovailoa. He’s only 23 years old and won’t turn 24 until March, meaning there’s still plenty of time to fix what’s been ailing the former Alabama star.
Tua Tagovailoa could work out as a backup with the NOLA Saints.
The Saints should trade Trevor Siemian, who’s currently the backup in the Big Easy, and if they do, it’d be easy to slot Taysom Hill in as the backup or even rookie fourth-rounder Ian Book. Neither of these options really help NOLA in the future, though, as Hill is in his 30s and more of a gadget player while Book is still an unknown.
Tua hasn’t wowed to this point but he’d give the Saints a dependable backup behind Winston this year and could potentially be their franchise signal-caller for the next decade if Sean Payton can work his magic on him.
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This is a move that New Orleans should definitely make because it could help their franchise for years to come.