For a couple of months now, a large contingent of Dolphins fans (and possibly owner Stephen Ross himself) has been onboard the #TankForTua train. They wanted to lose games to get one of the top quarterback prospects who will likely be available next year. These include not only Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa, the star quarterback who gave his name to the movement, but others such as Oregon's Justin Herbert and Georgia's Jake Fromm, who might be fodder for teams that lose a lot of games.
Now, with the draft over and Wilkins and Rosen ready to suit up, some tankers are still planning for defeat. But you can bet coach Flores, GM Grier, the rest of the front office, and the players who will hit the field 16 times this season won't be interested in a journey to 0-16.Here’s one way Josh Rosen could fend off a repeat of this year’s draft situation in 2020... (h/t @willcain) pic.twitter.com/1mRCsANPcT
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 1, 2019
It presents the classic You can't have your cake and eat it, too scenario for fans — if the team succeeds at all this year with Rosen at quarterback and Flores at the helm, it won't get that chance at a franchise quarterback.
Rosen has a lot of talent. He did well in high school and college but stunk for the Arizona Cardinals. Now that Grier, Flores, and company have made a smart start to their tenure, the pressure is on for Rosen to do well this year in Miami. If he has a lousy season, the team might still have a shot at top talent. If he's great, everyone will be happy. But, in the most likely scenario — he is just kind of OK in his first year in a new system with not much of a team behind him or an offensive line ahead of him — everyone will have egg on their face.