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UPDATE — Tua is ACTIVE for this week’s game but isn’t expected to play.
UPDATE — Tagovailoa is not expected to start against the Texans in Week 9, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Jacoby Brissett will start at QB and becomes an appealing streaming option against one of the worst teams in the NFL.
Dolphins’ QB Tua Tagovailoa has a small fracture in the middle finger of his throwing hand that has not recovered enough to allow him to start today’s game against the Texans, per league sources. Jacoby Brissett now is expected to be the Dolphins’ starting QB today, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 7, 2021
Tua Tagovailoa has been a bit of a conundrum in NFL cricles, many already calling the second-year QB a bust, while others defend him by showing off the experience and protection from his offensive line.
Still, regardless of the arguments for or against, fantasy managers still have to make a decision as to start him this weekend when his Miami Dolphins take on the Houston Texans. So what should they do with the second-year man out of Alabama?
Fantasy Football analysis: Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
The Dolphins signal-callers suffered through a rib injury in Week 2 and missed significant time this season. Since coming back a few weeks ago, he’s thrown for 825 yards, six scores and four interceptions. He’s played the Buffalo Bills twice, who own the NFL’s best pass defense, so taking those games out of his stat line on the season he’s averaging 274 yards through the air with seven touchdowns and four interceptions.
He’ll take on a Houston defense which has struggled against opposing quarterbacks. They gave up over 300 yards to Trevor Lawrence in his first game as an NFL QB and give up an average of 253 yards per game through the air. They also rank the 7th worse of all NFL defenses in terms of allowing fantasy points to the opposing QB. The only other times Tua has faced off with teams that rank in the bottom 10 of fantasy points allowed to QBs, he’s averaged 310 yards per game and has thrown six touchdowns to just three interceptions in those two games (ATL/JAX).
Fantasy Start/Sit Recommendation
If there is ever a week to start Tua, it’s this one. The weak Houston defense on top of the ‘Fins passing the ball about twice as often as they run means this could be another big game for Tagovailoa.
Start him if he’s already on your roster.