Dolphins Notebook: Tua's MVP Odds, Practice Squad Move, and More
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's performances in the back-to-back Miami Dolphins victories at Detroit and Chicago earned him a lot of national attention. They also catapulted him into the NFL MVP conversation through Week 9 of the 2022 season.
It's reflected in MVP odds, where Tagovailoa has made a huge jump the past two weeks, going from 100-1 to 75-1 and now to 12-1, according to BetOnline.ag.
Tagovailoa is fifth in the race based on the current odds, behind new front-runner Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, Jalen Hurts of the Eagles, Josh Allen of the Bills and Lamar Jackson of the Ravens.
It's interesting to note that Tagovailoa was listed at 200/1 on March 14 (before the Dolphins traded for Tyreek Hill) and at 50/1 heading into the regular season. After being off the board while he sat out with his concussion, Tagovailoa was at 40/1 on Oct. 18 when he was announced he would return the following Sunday against Pittsburgh but then dropped to 100/1 after the 16-10 victory against the Steelers.
Speaking of Hill, he's the highest-ranking non-quarterback in the BetOnline odds at 66/1, though he dropped from 50/1 this week, which is a bit strange considering he had seven catches for 143 yards and a touchdown in the 35-32 victory against the Chicago Bears.
While the Dolphins do not have a player listed with odds for NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors, Mike McDaniel is sixth on the list for NFL Coach of the Year behind front-runner Nick Sirianni of the Eagles, Pete Carroll of the Seahawks, Brian Daboll of the Giants, Kevin O'Connell of the Vikings and Robert Saleh of the Jets.
McDaniel's odds went down from 25/1 to 14/1 after the victory at Chicago. The 25/1 are his longest odds of the year. He was the favorite at 4/1 after the Dolphins' Week 3 victory against Buffalo.
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TUA GOES FOR FEDEX REPEAT
Tagovailoa is among the three nominees for the FedEx Air Player of the Week following his performance at Chicago when he threw for 302 yards with three touchdowns, no picks and a 135.7 passer rating.
His competition for the award, which Tua won for his Week 8 performance at Detroit, is Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Jalen Hurts. Fans can vote for the winner on Twitter.
For those thinking about the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award, it's awfully difficult to envision it going to anybody other than Cincinnati running back Joe Mixon after he scored five touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers.
PRACTICE SQUAD MOVE
The Dolphins made another move on their practice squad Tuesday, signing fullback Jake Bargas and releasing defensive tackle Big Kat Bryant.
The Dolphins currently have one fullback on the roster, Alec Ingold. The Dolphins reported no injuries in the press box during the victory at Chicago and Ingold has not been on the injury report in recent weeks, though he was spotted wearing a red (no-contact) jersey at practice recently.
Bargas was a tight end at North Carolina, but entered the NFL as a fullback as a rookie free agent with the Minnesota Vikings in 2020. He played one game for Minnesota in 2020 and 2021 and was in training camp with both the Vikings and Bears this summer. He will wear 48.
One final note on the practice squad because we never mentioned it before: The Carolina Panthers recently signed tackle Larnel Coleman off the Dolphins practice squad. Coleman, who had been elevated three times this season, was inactive for his first two games with Carolina.
THE UPDATED DOLPHINS PRACTICE SQUAD
Listed in alphabetical order. Number in parentheses indicates 2022 elevations, with a reminder the maximum is three for the regular season.
FB Jake Bargas
CB Kalon Barnes
DT Josiah Bronson
CB Tino Ellis
OL James Empey
OL Lamont Gaillard
LB Cameron Goode
T Grant Hermanns
WR Calvin Jackson
S Verone McKinley III (3)
RB La'Mical Perine
DB Jamal Perry
WR Braylon Sanders (1)
T Kion Smith (2)
DL Ben Stille (1)
DT Jaylen Twyman
PRACTICE SQUAD - INJURED LIST
LB Porter Gustin
WR Freddie Swain
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