Dolphins mailbag: Miami’s handling of potential Watson trade, Tagovailoa and more

Between the football lines, the Dolphins lost their sixth consecutive game in a 23-20 defeat to the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday. Outside the football lines, the organization is continuing to face questions about a potential trade for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Tua Tagovailoa has played well in two games since returning from fractured ribs, but it’s unclear whether that will be enough to convince Miami’s front office to stop its pursuit of Watson, a Pro Bowl player clouded with close to two dozen allegations of sexual misconduct.

In this week’s mailbag, I take a look at the organization’s handling of their pursuit of Watson, Tagovailoa and more. And a reminder that if you have questions you would like me to answer in future mailbags, you can ask me on Twitter or email me.

Here we go:

If a Watson trade is not likely to happen before the trade deadline, don’t they owe the fans a press release to clarify that we are supporting Tua? This uncertainty is really not helping. - @elijts

Short answer: No.

Long answer: This is obviously a tough spot for Tagovailoa, and I feel for him. He’s just one year removed from being the No. 5 overall pick in the NFL Draft and hasn’t even played a season’s worth of games. And yet, he’s facing questions after his 13th start about possibly being replaced by another player.

On the other hand, the front office, led by general manager Chris Grier, is tasked with trying to build the best team it can under the NFL’s rules and regulations. Teams have conversations about trading for and trading away players all the time. It just so happens that these conversations have been leaked and involve the most important position in the game, Tagovailoa’s position.

In a perfect world, would we all love the organization to 100 percent back Tagovailoa, completely deny all reports of their interest in Watson and continue to build around their young quarterback, who has played well since his return from fractured ribs? Sure. But that’s not the world we’re in, and I don’t think the organization needs to issue a public statement for looking into moves that they think would produce a more competitive team.

Hey Daniel, comparisons of Waddle to Chase and Pitts, but do we honestly think either would be flourishing in this offense? At what point do the coaches begin to take accountability for the team performance. Miami is a poorly coached team. - @WonderWhoWhen

It’s a fair point to make because much of a players’ success when drafted is contingent on the team that selects them and the system that they’re in. Waddle has been good this season. Probably underutilized, but still good, and I think he has a bright future. When you see highlights of Ja’Marr Chase picking up 200 receiving yards last weekend, beating defensive backs downfield and firmly cementing his place as the front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year, it’s easy to play the “What if” game. The same goes for Kyle Pitts after he had a career game against the Dolphins. Yes, Miami has Mike Gesicki but I would have loved to see what he and Pitts could’ve done in two tight end sets the team loves to run, à la the New England Patriots of the 2010s with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

I think the bigger point here is that after trading back from the third overall pick to No. 12 — and picking up two additional first-rounders from the San Francisco 49ers, which was a shrewd move — the Dolphins moved up to No. 6 and traded away their 2022 first-rounder to take Waddle. That 2022 first-rounder is now projected to be a top-10 pick — and belongs to the Philadelphia Eagles. Nobody could have envisioned Miami would be this much of a disappointment, and I’m sure the front office thought it was giving up what would be a low first-round pick at the time. But given what we know now, and the success of Chase and Pitts, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to question the overall move.

Daniel, Miami comes out with an excellent game plan. (Dolphins have scored when Tua started in 3 of 4 opening drives this season). But, struggle mightily in the second and the beginning of the 3rd quarter. Why do you think that has become a consistent problem? - @cogator06

There are a lot of factors that play a role in the strong starts that quickly fizzle out. There’s comfort in the first drive, which is scripted. Over time, defenses make adjustments and the offense can’t adjust quick enough. Untimely penalties and bad execution — such as Jason Sanders’ blocked field-goal attempt and Tagovailoa’s end zone interception right before halftime — prevent the offense from putting anywhere from six to 14 additional points on the board last Sunday.

I think one thing that’s really missing from the Dolphins offense is the explosive plays that result in quick, scoring drives. It’s great that Tagovailoa has shown the ability to drive the offense the length of the field methodically and covert key third-down conversions. But it’s tough to drive an offense in the end zone three or four times in a game without those chunk plays.

Where is Gesicki’s new contract? we are going to lose him....and do you think his comments about loving playing with Tua was a message to the front office? - @David13David

Hopefully it’s coming soon because he has been one of the Dolphins’ four or five best players this season. Through seven games, he’s on pace to set career highs for targets, receptions and receiving yards. On an offense that has had a lot of pass-catchers in and out of the lineup, he has been reliable this season and throughout his career, only missing one game in four seasons so far.

I don’t want to make too much or too little of his comments about playing with Tagovailoa. I think Gesicki loves catching the ball and that happens a lot when Tagovailoa is under center. Despite his aversion to blocking, I think Miami’s front office would be ill-advised not to open up its wallet, reward Gesicki and make him one of the highest-paid tight ends in the NFL.