Before saying the offseason was in its opening minutes and everything was open for examination, Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said Tua Tagovailoa wasn’t open for any examination.
“Tua, we’re very happy with,’' Grier said. “He’s our starting quarterback.”
Later, while talking about how competition is important on a building team and he embraces it at every position, even the quarterback, Grier interrupted himself.
“I also want to be clear that Tua is our starter, and we’re very happy with his development so far,’' he said.
So that’s that. The big question of the 2021 offseason is answered. Grier spoke in generalities, leaving a general manager’s usual trail of fog about offseason plans, except for one, defining subject.
They’re in the tank for Tua.
This was the move to make, too — meaning, if they’re that committed to Tua to say so here and now, at the top of the offseason, so everyone is crystal-clear about priorities and where everyone stands.
Was it the right move for the long term? Answer this: Did he wow you this rookie year? Well, he wowed you with his mature personality and his forthright desire to be great. Los Angeles Chargers rookie Justin Herbert wowed you with his throws.
On the field, Tua left the idea — getting benched twice, stuttering against defenses journeyman QB Ryan Fitzpatrick succeeded against — that you needed to see more before anointing him. Maybe take a look at the quarterback option with the No. 3 draft pick?
Grier and coach Brian Flores didn’t look. They anointed Tua. They didn’t just bet on the quarterback. They bet on themselves. This gets to the line of Hall of Fame coach and builder of quarterback Hall of Famers, Bill Walsh: “Organizations make quarterbacks.”
It’s time for Phase II of this organization’s rebuild to make a quarterback by building talent around him.
Grier, to be sure, has made enough good moves to support this next phase. His trade of Laremy Tunsil secured the third and 35th draft picks this draft (in addition to the 19th pick used on tackle Austin Jackson last year).
That might go down as one of the greatest trades in South Florida history. It could get up there with Dolphins trades for, say, future Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti from New England for a list of nobodies or future Hall of Famer Larry Little from San Diego for Mack Lamb, a cornerback who didn’t make the San Diego roster.
The only uncertainty here: Is there a Hall of Famer coming with that draft pick? OK, that’s greedy. But how about a Pro Bowl player on a roster that needs to develop a few from these drafts.
Crowning Tua, betting on his future, opens up a treasure chest of options for this, too. Do they draft Oregon tackle Penei Sewell to bolster the line? Please, no. They’ve invested heavily in the offensive line. Their picks better develop.
Do they draft who might be the highest graded player on the board? It could be local product and cornerback Patrick Surtain II? The deepest and most-invested position on the Dolphins is cornerback.
The most obvious idea involves this draft having three highly rated quarterbacks and more than 10 teams needing a quarterback. That valuable third pick could be traded for invaluable draft picks while still securing this team’s prime needs.
Indianapolis, for example, had the third pick in 2018 and traded it so the New York Jets could draft quarterback Sam Darnold. They got the Jets’ sixth pick, two second-round picks that year and another second-rounder in 2019.
So the Dolphins could make a similar trade, pick up a top receiver like LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase or Alabama’s Devonta Smith or a top linebacker like Micah Parsons. They’d still have plenty of poker chips left, too.
That’s how you build a roster — assuming you have the quarterback. That’s how smart teams create a cycle of good drafts — assuming the quarterback is on board as the centerpiece to it all.
Half a general manager’s job is getting the right quarterback. The Dolphins’ run through the wilderness for the past 20 years says as much. They’re not out of the wilderness, either. Not yet. Not anymore than those playoff years of 2008 or 2016 when they a big step … only to take two steps back the next year.
Grier on Tuesday said half his job is done. He has his quarterback. He didn’t even need to kick the NFL combine tires of Ohio State’s Justin Fields or Brigham Young’s Zach Wilson, whom they could have taken with the third pick (assuming Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence goes first).
Tua was handed the job Tuesday.
Fitzpatrick also was voted by teammates Tuesday as winner of the leadership award.
It’s one thing to be given keys to the team. It’s Tua’s job now to go earn it.
