It was clear in the Miami Dolphins’ 24-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday that as long as they have a question mark at quarterback, their on-field product is going to be awfully hard to watch.
Starting QB Tua Tagovailoa is sidelined for at least the next three games (and possibly longer if the team wants to protect Tagovailoa from himself), and the Dolphins should think long and hard about acquiring another signal-caller if they don’t want their playoff hopes to slip away before the Thanksgiving holiday.
With Tagovailoa out, here are three passers Miami should consider trading for who could help save its season.
Jimmy Garoppolo
Garoppolo is already familiar with head coach Mike McDaniel’s offensive philosophy from their time together in San Francisco, and he was pretty successful running a Kyle Shanahan-style offense with the 49ers (he had a 38-17 record in SF and led the team to a Super Bowl.
With the weapons Miami has — Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, De’Von Achane — Garoppolo could make a seamless transition and he wouldn’t have the pressure of carrying the team like he did in Las Vegas last season. Garoppolo is also on a one-year contract, so there would be no long-term commitment to him beyond this season.
Joe Flacco
Flacco did a heck of a job at the end of last season taking over as the Cleveland Browns starter and leading the team to a 4-1 record and playoff appearance. The 39-year-old QB threw for 300 yards or more in five of his six starts, including the playoffs, and throwing to the likes of Hill and Waddle, he could average 300 yards per game in Miami.
Flacco, who’s on a one-year contract, has won a Super Bowl, has plenty of playoff experience, still has a pretty strong NFL arm, and he would be a significant upgrade over Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle and Tyler Huntley.
Jameis Winston
Winston is a bit of a wild card (and a head case, at times), but he has 80 games of starting experience in the NFL with a 5,109-yard, 33-touchdown season under his belt. Sure, the Dolphins would have to live with some bone-headed interceptions and a few questionable decisions, but that’s just part of the Winston experience.
The 30-year-old can push the ball down the field, he can make some of the easy throws that Thompson, Boyle and Huntley routinely miss, and he can get rid of the ball quickly to Hill and Waddle and let them do the rest. Like Garoppolo and Flacco, Winston is also on a one-year contract, so he could get Miami through this season and both sides can walk away in March.
