Palm Beach Post article: NFL Draft: Tua Tagovailoa fails two teams’ physicals, ex-GM Lombardi says

It's so hard to tell if there's truth to that or if it's a smokescreen, but I'm guessing that NFL execs will know much better than we would what's fact and what's fiction. If it is true, he could fall out of the early rounds entirely.

 

If he does fall, I wonder if someone like New Orleans or Green Bay would take him late, knowing that they can fully red shirt him.

 

With the Virus and Tua unable to have a pro day and then go work out for individual teams... I totally believe that several teams are not considering Tua... It is a gigantic risk and the draft is loaded with Studs at Corner, Linebacker, DT, Tackle, Wide receivers There are other good QB prospects also.

Especially for teams that have other options at the quarterback position. Not being able to work Tua out or have him examined. It makes sense why teams are looking at absolute studs like Young, Simmons, Brown, Okudah.... and considering taking them over the Injured QB

 

If Miami passes on Tua I could see him fall to the Jaguars or the Raiders.

 

Even though he is my #3 QB on the board I'd prefer he would pass the physicals. Not so we take him, but so that he occupies a slot before our pick ensuring Herbert hits #5.

Alternatively to pick him if Herbert is gone.

 

I'm trying to work out how teams have done such extensive pre-draft evaluations when everything is on lockdown?

 

I totally get the logic, and can't fault it. But I'm still interested to see what the Fins would do if Herbert is gone and they've deemed Tago to be off the board medically.

 

They'd do the Chubby Checker...

'C'mon let's tank again, like we did last summer
Yeah, let's tank again, like we did last year...'

 

Well, there are other positions that are important to a football team other than quarterback....

 

I absolutely agree with this buuuut.

That said, the other positions are generally a bit easier to acquire later in the draft, because QB often get drafted earlier than their talent dictates. Not to say you cant find a good QB later, but at that point it's about hoping everyone else but your team missed something.

Also, though we obviously have holes, I think our roster is looking pretty good. Honestly regardless of who we draft I'd like them to sit at least 8-12 games.

I dont think it's impossible that we are in the wildcard hunt if things go well with Fitz. Not to say we will make it, I doubt we do, but we may have some games that feel meaningful late season to us.

Our aggressive FA plays took me from what I thought was a 3-6 win team to a 5-8 win team.

 

The more this plays out, the more I'd rather draft Love or even Hurts. I think Tua, as much as I like his play and skills, is not a guy that is going to hold up. Look at his history it is clearly showing you the guy cannot stay healthy. It will be a huge mistake to draft him, again not because he isn't good but because he will miss too many games with injuries.

This is all assuming we cant get Burrows without giving up everything we've got in the bank.

 

I want absolutely nothing to do with either Love or Hurts, period. Not in any round.

 

This is where I am probably being naive, but in this situation wouldn't the relationship between Lambardi and the GMs factor in? Would they purposely use him to spread misinformation? When the truth comes out, how would their relationship be going forward? Looking at it from another angle, maybe they confided in Lombardi and he broke their trust. Now that would be messed up on his part. If I was Lombardi, I sure wouldn't like being used for a smokescreen. His credibility is at stake, isn't it, or is that a non-factor in today's (just throw stuff out there) media environment?

 

BROKE HIS WRIST TWICE IN ONE YEAR???

No thanks. This dude is a walking injury.

 

Ive been saying he is made of glass for so long... and even if he were healthy i am not picking him... he is Mariota 2.0.. same high school program, same style of play. The only difference is Mariota had MUCH less talent in Oregon than Tua did in Bama.. yet recorded identical numbers.

 

To some degree reporters worry about credibility, but at the same time you'll never hear one come out and say, "Oops, I lied to you last week." Instead, they'll say their source had it wrong, it's all the source's fault, and believe their own ethics are still beyond approach. Honestly, Lombardi probably doesn't care if the news is real or fake because it creates the same end result- more clicks and ultimately a bigger paycheck.

In journalism, you have to trust your sources and hope that they have your best interests at heart...which they rarely do. For instance, in this news story....what does "failing a physical" mean? It could be Tua didn't do a cardio test on the treadmill because of the hip, which would be perfectly understandable. Not testing doesn't = fail, but saying Tua didn't do a particular cardio test doesn't make you want to click. So the media sensationalizes it and says, "Here's big, breaking news that changes everything...."

Here's something else to keep in mind- a lot of these types of reports say "a GM in the league said..." That doesn't mean the reporter talked to the GM. He more likely talked to the assistant to the GM's secretary who overheard the GM saying, "His physical didn't go well." Again, that's not sensationalized enough and there's no context there to pass judgement to begin with....but if you twist those five words just a little bit, then you have a breaking story during an otherwise slow news cycle. That's where most of this stuff comes from.

So take any report with anonymous sources with a grain of salt- I'm not saying to dismiss them completely, but don't take it as the gospel either. We don't have the source, the context of what was said or even what Tua was supposed to have failed...that's a ton of assumptions and a huge leap of faith.

 

Thank you! I know you are familiar with this sort of thing, so that's why I asked. I appreciate the insight!

 

If true, it likely just makes Herbert the trade-up target for someone rather than Tua. It may even increase the likelihood of a tradeup if teams have removed Tua entirely since the "supply" has now been lowered.

 

I keep thinking to myself, "How could you really take a guy with serious medical issues when you can't have your doctors meet with him and inspect on your own?"

I know a lot of Tua fans will offer rebuttals. Whatever your rebuttal may be, you would have to at least consider that trading up for that pick only compounds the risk.

As the process plays out, I am starting to see value in standing pat at 5.

 

It would be easy to refute the two broken wrists, if they aren't true. If these injuries are true and weren't made known, that is a massive red flag.

 

Isn't one of the Lombardi's in Carolina now? Is this their smokescreen to get Tua to replace Cam?

 

Yes, it is officially the lying season. You have to take all of these reports with a HUGE grain of salt.

That said, if you believe there's any truth to the report, I think it's safe to assume one of those two teams is probably Miami.

JMHO...

 

Not really a dude that would stand in the way of a rookie if they feel the potential is high enough.

 

If they think they can work with Hurts or Gordon.... I am fine with them trading down and building the Shiit out of this team... Rolling with Fitzmagic this year... Coaching up Rosen and Hurts this season and letting those two young QB's battle it out for the starting job in 2021 on a otherwise absolutely stacked Miami Roster.

Trade down to the 9 spot.

9. Kinlaw
18. Josh Jones
20. McKinney
26. Mims
39. Zach Baun
56. Cushenberry
70. Prince Wanogho

Build the crap out of the O line
Add a Massive wideout that has elite speed
Kinlaw is a monster for the Defensive line... Run stuffer that will open up lanes for others to get to the QB
Baun is a fantastic linebacker who can run! He gets to the QB and he can cover tight ends. McKinney has the markings of an elite Safety.

Jones
Cushenberry
Prince Wanogho

Two tackles and a center... all dominant and athletic players in college.


This fixes the Line for 2021
It gives the Dolphins the horses to have a top 5 defense in 2021.

Dominant in the Trenches... a top Defense... a Top wide receiver group

Very strong formula for success.

After pick 70.... use the remaining picks to trade up to get Hurts in the third... and make sure you get a running back like Dillon after you pick Hurts... So in 2021 when the Dolphins offensive line is a team strength you have the 250 pound running back that can punish defenses and rest our defense...

We are not going to win a superbowl with Fitzmagic... But this puts a fantastic team in place in case you know we get a QB that is as good as Tannehill. If it is Rosen, Hurts, Gordon, Flacco... Or someone in the draft next year. ( Trey Lance... No way we are getting Trevor Lawrence. We have a couple of first round picks next year... So we have the resources to move up and get Lance if things pan out for us. )

Point is... I am not against getting a QB this year.... I do not want them to push for it though. There is a bumper crop next year as well. Let's focus on great players and strong value for our picks... Just keep building a complete football team.

 

Looks like Tua's agent doing some damage control...

Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa's agent insists his client's surgically-repaired hip is not a re-injury risk.
"(His doctors) have been very clear that Tua's health is fine," agent Leigh Steinberg insisted. "There's no recurrence that's going to happen here. ... These health concerns are overblown." Hip injuries are amongst the most difficult for football players to come back from, but by all accounts, Tagovailoa's rehab has indeed been seamless. With the coronavirus pandemic preventing in-person visits, teams may still have more questions than they would in a normal year. Nevertheless, Tagovailoa seems poised to come off the board in the first five picks.

SOURCE: Adam Beasley on Twitter
Apr 9, 2020, 2:30 PM ET

 

Didn't address the broken wrist injuries...

 

I'm just going to reiterate I don't care if we end up with Burrow. Whoever it is they should NOT start ANY games this year! Mop up duty is all and get them ready for 2021. Please prepare whoever it is the right way!

 

I keep wondering if we should do something like this. The question I have is, besides Burrow, are any of these QBs a real difference-maker?

 

So wait...the idiot agent is guaranteeing that Tua will never hurt his hip in the NFL?!? A quote that dumb will scare more teams than it impresses. That's a pure desperation statement.

 

You honestly never know. Some will never adjust to NFL speed and others crash when it comes to reading defenses. There's 50 ways to become a bust and only 1 path to being a successful starter....so don't look for the science that PROVES Burrow is better than Hurts or any later round pick. They could both be superstars or they could both be busts- we won't know until we know.

Go back to My2Cents thread and his QB evaluations...he liked the guy rated dead last from a nothing school that nobody had ever heard of before. That guy could be the next Tom Brady....probably not....but his overall odds aren't that much lower than Burrow's. It all comes down to their growth the 1st few years in the league.

 

I think that Herbert has the best shot to be a good NFL QB, long term. But I don't think that he's a slam dunk by any means. I put him on the same level as Jones and Haskins from last year, as pretty equal as being considered to be the best QB from the last two classes.

 

My understanding is that the Dolphins have been in “daily” contact with Tua or his reps including doctors since the injury (no I’m not sure that’s technically allowed, but I was also told “nobody is checking”) I’d heard this a couple of weeks ago. It would surprise me if there was anything they didn’t already know about his medicals. My guess is that if the report of some team failing him is true, it’s probably some team that was just now getting around to doing their due diligence rather than a team that’s been seriously considering him all along.

 

IF there is any truth to this, it will have officially scared me away. Like I said, who knows what's BS and what isn't, but two teams failing him on a physical is pretty damning if in fact it is true. I was already terrified with the injuries, but I was willing to roll with it if he was the pick. Now, if we draft him with our first pick, it's going to feel like a total waste. The ONLY way i'm still ok with us drafting him is if he is redshirted his rookie season to focus strictly on playbook/offense and bodily rehab. This is pretty crappy for him though.

 

I recall back in 1992 that Favre failed his physical when Green Bay tried to trade for him. Favre had avascular necrosis and I know several teams were concerned about it in the draft. The information on physicals was never officially released but I’m sure several teams failed Favre in their draft physical as well. Anyway, Wolf decided to trade for Favre anyways.

 

I'm more concerned with hiding two broken wrists.