Kelly: Did Dolphins set Tua up to succeed with this offensive line? | Opinion

Tua Tagovailoa typically conducts himself in interviews or a news conference as if he just guzzled 32 ounces of truth serum, so it’s always wise to take what he says — and sometimes what he doesn’t say — seriously.

That’s why a comment the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback made Monday when asked about his confidence level with the interior of the ’ offensive line stands out.

If you were searching for an endorsement of a unit, or a group of particular players, what Tagovailoa said fell far short of that.

“Well bruddah, I get the ball out fast, so I’m confident with anybody we got up there,” Tagovailoa said when asked about his confidence level in Miami’s offensive line. “I’m confident with anybody we get up there.”

Odd way to endorse a unit that seemingly has issues.

Sounded more like Tagovailoa was admitting the Dolphins have talent, depth and injury issues at the interior spots on the offensive line, much like they did last season when the group’s struggles in December routinely rushed Tagovailoa’s operation.

You would think general manager Chris Grier and his staff would have fixed that problem this offseason, but based on what we have seen in training camp and Miami’s three preseason games, they haven’t.

Aaron Brewer, the center who was signed to replace Connor Williams as the starter, is nursing a hand injury that has kept him from practicing for three weeks, and his status for the Sept. 8 season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars is unclear.

Brewer has a laceration that needs to heal, and he seemingly can’t practice until it does.

Liam Eichenberg has replaced Brewer as Miami’s center for the time being, filling in at that critical spot much like he did for eight starts in 2023 season. The problem there is that Eichenberg, a 2021 second-round pick who has started 38 NFL games the past three regular seasons, has struggled most of his NFL career at whatever spot he has played.

“He’s probably had as good of a camp as anybody,” McDaniel told a shocked media contingent Friday night, explaining why Eichenberg didn’t play in the final preseason against Tampa Bay. “[He] has really put together some good practices.”

Let’s hope that means Eichenberg will end more plays on his feet and not the ground this season wherever he ends up taking his snaps.

Eichenberg had hoped to use training camp and the preseason to settle into the right guard spot, proving he could handle becoming Robert Hunt’s replacement. But that didn’t happen.

Lester Cotton presently fills the void Eichenberg’s temporary move to center created, and Jack Driscoll, another newcomer signed as a free agent, is supposed to be his backup.

Truth is, both players might struggle to make it onto most NFL teams’ 53-man roster.

Then we’ve got the left guard spot, which has been filled by Robert Jones all training camp because Isaiah Wynn, last year’s starting left guard, seemingly suffered a setback from the quadriceps injury that cut his 2023 season short. Wynn will begin 2024 on the reserve physically unable to perform list, which means he will be sidelined for at least the season’s first four games.

That window provides Jones another shot to prove he’s an NFL starter.

“He’s still young, but he’s got games under his belt against high-level talent,” Terron Armstead said about Jones, who has started 13 NFL games the past three seasons. “He’s proven. He’s a dawg. He’s physical, he’s strong, he’s smart, he’s tough. Everything that you want in a player. “

But he’s also unpolished, as is everyone on the interior of Miami’s offensive line projected as starters on Sept. 8.

Maybe that’s why Tagovailoa’s comments Monday sounded more like a cry for help than an endorsement.

While I have confidence that the offensive line will improve when a healthy Armstead is inserted at left tackle because Miami can slide protections away from the five-time Pro Bowler, and believe in Butch Barry, the unit’s position coach, based on what was achieved by that unit last year, at the heart of my concern is the fear that Tagovailoa will have to speed up his process.

Or worse, Tagovailoa could suffer a troublesome injury because of that unit’s talent shortcomings.

And if that’s the case this is roster malpractice at it’s finest. Grier knew last year’s unit wasn’t good enough for the Dolphins to achieve their team goal of reaching the Super Bowl, and did very little to improve it.

Losing Hunt, who signed with the Carolina Panthers this offseason, was unavoidable because giving a right guard a $100 million contract is irresponsible. But was Driscoll, a career backup who spent four years in Philadelphia as a swing tackle for an inside zone running team, even an attempt at replacing Hunt?

Outside of Brewer, Driscoll was the only major free agent move made.

And when put in position to select an interior player at any point in the 2024 NFL Draft the Dolphins declined, instead opting to pick a pass rusher (Chop Robinson), a talented left tackle (Patrick Paul) who will likely redshirt this season and a tailback (Jaylen Wright) who was sliding down the draft and the Dolphins traded into the fourth round to acquire.

Replacing Williams with Brewer is understandable since in the spring the league-wide talk wasn’t just that Williams is rehabbing the ACL injury he sustained in December, it was that the top performer from last year’s offensive line was leaning toward retirement because of how challenging his rehab was.

Fast forward four months and Williams signed a one-year, $6 million deal to be the Seattle Seahawks’ starting center.

Grier better hope Brewer’s run game prowess opens up a new element to the Dolphins offense, or Williams looks like a shell of himself because that’s the only way this center swap makes sense.

But then again, there’s no way to make sense of a team not properly, effectively addressing an area of concern all offseason.

That explains why Tagovailoa deliver the “I’ll make it work” answer he did, which basically hints he’ll focus on making the most of a situation, and unit that’s not ideal.