Miami named Tua Tagovailoa their new starter according to multiple league sources, ushering in a highly anticipated new age of Dolphins football.
Coach Brian Flores is turning to the No. 5 overall pick during the team’s bye week, and Tagovailoa will make his first start at home on Nov. 1 against the Los Angeles Rams.
The seismic news comes less than 48 hours after Ryan Fitzpatrick – who ranks in the top 10 in QBR – threw three touchdowns but two interceptions in the team’s blowout win over the Jets. Tagovailoa saw his first NFL action in the game’s final moments, completing his only two passes for nine yards.
Tagovailoa will become the third of four rookie first-round quarterbacks to start for their respective teams in 2020. But none of the other three has overcome what Tagovailoa has – a major, November 2019 hip injury that threatened his career and likely cost him millions of dollars. The Dolphins, showing great caution, had him mostly sit behind Fitzpatrick and absorb ever since players reported to camp in late July.
Both the team and Fitzpatrick knew this day was an inevitability. What no one on the outside knew was that it would come at this point in the season.
GIANTS: Two days after scoring a game-winning touchdown in the final minutes, rookie linebacker Tae Crowder was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
The last player taken in the NFL draft and the current Mr. Irrelevant, Crowder scored on a 43-yard fumble return with 3 1/2 minutes to play to give the Giants a 20-19 win over Washington on Sunday. Crowder did not mention an injury in a virtual conference call after the game. He did not participate in walk-through practices on Monday and Tuesday and was placed on IR late in the afternoon.
TROY AIKMAN and Joe Buck became the latest announcers to get caught on a hot mic during Fox’s national broadcast of the Packers-Buccaneers game Sunday. Their comments seem to be from immediately after jet fighters performed a ceremonial flyover during the national anthem.
Aikman: “That’s a lot of jet fuel just to do a little flyover.”
Buck, in a mocking tone: “That’s your hard-earned money and your tax dollars at work!”
Aikman: “That stuff ain’t happening with Kamala-Biden ticket. I’ll tell you that right now, partner.”
According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn., one Air Force F-15 jet can burn 385 gallons of fuel per minute. So Aikman would seem correct in stating that Sunday’s event required “a lot of jet fuel.” His “little flyover” remark might reference the fact that the stadium was only at 25% capacity because of coronavirus restrictions. That means only 15,000 or so people witnessed the spectacle in person.
RAMS: Los Angeles signed veteran kicker Kai Forbath from the Bears’ practice squad after a rocky start to the season for rookie Samuel Sloman.
The Rams kept Sloman on their active roster Tuesday. They also placed linebacker Ogbonnia Okoronkwo on injured reserve. Los Angeles drafted Sloman in the seventh round out of Miami of Ohio, but he has missed three of 18 extra-point attempts, including a blocked try against the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday night in the Rams’ 24-16 loss.
Sloman also has missed two of his nine field-goal attempts, including a 29-yarder in the season opener, and Coach Sean McVay hasn’t always been happy with his kickoffs.
BEARS: Chicago signed former Notre Dame star linebacker Manti Teo to their practice squad .
Teo has made 48 starts and 62 appearances over seven seasons with the then-San Diego Chargers (2013-16) and New Orleans Saints (2017-19). He has 307 tackles – 22 for loss – along with 13 pass breakups and two interceptions.
PANTHERS: Carolina placed starting safety Juston Burris and reserve wide receiver Keith Kirkwood on injured reserve, meaning both will miss at least the next three games.
Burris injured his ribs in Carolina’s 23-16 loss to the Bears on Sunday, while Kirkwood re-injured a shoulder that had kept him out of action the first five weeks. Burris had played almost every snap on defense this season prior to the injury and recorded 24 tackles, two passes defensed, and an interception that helped preserve Carolina’s win over the Falcons in Week 5.
The Panthers signed safety Kenny Robinson and offensive lineman Sam Tecklenburg off their own practice squad.
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