Broncos Land Tua Tagovailoa in Wild 3-Team Trade Proposal
As the Denver Broncos embark on the 2024 offseason looking to improve on their 8-9 finish, the team's looming quarterback situation is the biggest issue. If the Broncos move on from the age-35 Russell Wilson, a massive vacuum will be created at quarterback, and someone has to fill it.
Could Tua Tagovailoa be that QB?
Pro Football Network's Ian Cummings recently dropped a seven-round mock draft, and the proceedings began with what would be a blockbuster three-team trade that landed Tua in Denver.
• Broncos get: Tua Tagovailoa, No. 137 pick
• Dolphins get: Justin Fields, No. 81 pick, Broncos 2025 second-round pick
• Bears get: No. 182 pick, Dolphins 2025 third-round pick, Broncos 2025 sixth-round pick
Somehow, the Broncos landed a Pro Bowl quarterback coming off of an 11-win season where he threw for 4,600-plus yards and 29 touchdowns without having to give up their first-round pick. In Cummings' mock, the Broncos selected Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold, a trendy name for Denver of late.
A mock draft that begins with a convoluted three-team trade beggars belief, as the Chicago Bears also dealt Justin Fields to Miami as part of the transaction in Cummings' scenario. It's a fun read, though. The Broncos gave up their 2025 second-rounder in Cummings' mock scenario, along with a sixth-round pick the same year.
The chances of the Broncos landing Tua, a 25-year-old franchise quarterback, at such a meager expense are, of course, nil. But it's fun to fantasize and contemplate the possibilities of what it would be like to live in an alternate football universe.
Plus, the Miami Dolphins have some serious momentum. After missing the playoffs for five straight seasons, the Dolphins have made the postseason in back-to-back years under the leadership of head coach Mike McDaniel and Tagovailoa.
As the former No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Alabama, Tua is finally realizing Miami's vision for him, thanks to McDaniel's arrival. Sometimes it takes the right coach to extract a QB's potential, and that's exactly what McDaniel has done in Miami.
The Dolphins squandered an AFC East crown this past season, losing three of their last five games and backing into the playoffs. Miami eventually succumbed in one-and-done fashion in the playoffs to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wildcard Round, but McDaniel has the team on the right track.
If they can manage some continuity moving forward, especially at quarterback, the Dolphins are poised for a period of sustained competitive relevance. Tua enters a contract year in 2024, set to make $23 million. That's chump change for a franchise quarterback.
There may still be questions about Tua being a bonafide franchise guy, but so long as Miami can keep McDaniel's offensive brainpower around, there's no reason to believe that the former Alabama star won't continue to provide franchise-caliber results.
Meanwhile, the Broncos have to get to work to either solve the Wilson situation, or bite the bullet on what would be an enormously costly release, and start on the long process of identifying and targeting their future franchise quarterback. It won't be Tua, though.
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