Is Week 13 the Right Number for Tua?

Maybe it was just coincidence. Or maybe it just had to be that a prediction for Tua Tagovailoa's first NFL start would involve the number 13.

CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora gave his predictions Wednesday as to when the top quarterbacks in the 2020 NFL draft would make their first start and, yup, he pegged Week 13 for the Dolphins first-round pick.

Week 13 of the 2020 season falls on Dec. 6 and that's when the Dolphins will play their first of three consecutive home games against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Tua making his first start that day would make for a great storyline because of the matchup with Bengals rookie QB Joe Burrow, who LaCanfora expects — as does everybody else — to be Cincinnati's opening-day starter.

The topic of when Tagovailoa will make his debut for the Dolphins already has been debated quite a bit, though — as we've warned — the conversation is not going to stop until he's actually on the field or Head Coach Brian Flores makes some sort of declaration (not likely).

The issues involving Tagovailoa center around the condition of his right hip, which he injured last November during his final year at the University of Alabama, along with the presence of veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, which allows the Dolphins to take their time with Tua and err on the side of caution.

Week 13 comes two weeks after the Dolphins are scheduled to have their bye, which this year comes between the two games against the New York Jets.

The game after the bye always seems like an appropriate time for a young quarterback to be inserted into the lineup, particularly if it's later in the season.

So the Week 12 game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium certainly would be another logical scenario.

The way La Canfora sees it, the idea of having Tua make his first start at home in December should have a certain appeal.

"This is a team on the rise that will be able to be competitive with most teams with Fitzpatrick doing his thing … But Fitzy will start to run out of gas eventually, and even with an expanded playoff field, Miami isn't ready to take that step just yet," La Canfora wrote. "That Week 11 bye is the perfect time to be ramping up Tua and with the Bengals set to come to Miami in Week 13, well, that's a date I might circle with a Sharpie. That begins a stretch of three straight home games to let the fan base start to see their future in action before the Dolphins close with consecutive road contests."

LaCanfora's story comes after Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said he could play Tua right away if he's healthy and former Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich saying Tua should sit.

So, as we said, the debate continues.

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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter at @apoupartFins.

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