Tua Tagovailoa

Dolphins Rumors: OBJ, Chubb, Wilson

The Dolphins’ efforts to bring in another receiver have taken an interesting turn today. According to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is planning to visit Miami tomorrow. Miami Herald writer Barry Jackson has been reporting on the Dolphins’ interest in the veteran wideout.

The team’s wide receiving corps will continue to be dominated by Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Miami re-signed return specialist Braxton Berrios, and a tweet today from River Cracraft seems to indicate that the team was able to re-sign the depth piece, as well. Over two years with the Dolphins, Cracraft was 18 catches for 223 yards and three touchdowns.

After that, the only available receivers on the roster are Erik Ezukanma, Anthony Schwartz, Braylon Sanders, and Mathew Sexton. The team has inquired with a couple of receivers on the free agent market, and their inquiries into Beckham appear to have resulted in tomorrow’s visit.

Last year with Baltimore, Beckham didn’t quite reach the heights of his early-career success, but he still looked like himself at times as he received for his highest yardage total since 2019. He also found himself taking a backseat in targets to rookie Zay Flowers, so there shouldn’t be much of an issue with losing targets to Hill and Waddle. Tomorrow will determine if Beckham is willing to join the fray in Miami on a reasonable deal.

Here are a few other rumors coming out of South Beach:

  • The Dolphins were able to agree to a restructured deal with pass rusher Bradley Chubb today, per ESPN’s Field Yates. The team converted $13.75MM of Chubb’s 2024 base salary into a signing bonus while adding a void year to the end of his contract. The move frees up $11MM of cap space for a team that may be looking to add a weapon like Beckham in the near future.
  • Running back Jeff Wilson also reportedly agreed to a restructured deal, according to Jackson. Wilson has accepted a pay cut in 2024 from $2.6MM to $1.13MM, helping to lower his cap hit by $1.32MM. In exchange, the team added $400K of guarantees to his deal and made available a $100K workout bonus, a $255K incentive if he is active for every game, and a $550K incentive based on combined rushing and receiving yards and team performance.
  • In addition to the two restructures above, Jackson suggests that Miami could attempt to open up some cap space by signing Hill to a new extension or giving quarterback Tua Tagovailoa a long-term contract.
  • Lastly, Jackson reports that former Seahawks offensive guard Phil Haynes visited Miami on Monday. With veteran guard being listed as an item on the team’s wish list, the Haynes visit makes plenty of sense, though he departed before the two sides could come together on an agreement. Haynes earned the starting right guard job for Seattle last year before suffering a season-ending toe injury after eight games.

Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa Hoping For Quick Negotiations

Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins are hoping to get an extension done as soon as possible. As NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero, and Mike Garafolo pass along, there’s been indications from both sides that they “would like to get a deal done quickly this offseason.”

[RELATED: Tagovailoa Expects To Remain With Dolphins Long-Term]

Both sides have previously expressed their interest in a long-term commitment, and it now bodes well for the impending negotiations that neither the Dolphins nor Tagovailoa’s camp are looking to draw out the process. As the NFL Network trio notes, both sides also want to avoid “a storyline that hangs over training camp or the regular season.”

Of course, settling on a new deal will be easier said than done. The fourth-year quarterback is coming off of a career year where he set career highs in passing yards (4,624), touchdowns (29), and completion percentage (69.3). Even more notably, Tagovailoa managed to get into all 17 games this past year, a huge accomplishment after he missed 14 games through his first three years due to injuries and concussions.

Tagovailoa showed a clear step forward under Mike McDaniel in 2022, but thanks to a series of concussions, it was reported that the Dolphins would table contract talks until after the 2022 campaign. While the gamble made sense, it didn’t end up working out for the Dolphins front office. As the salary cap continues to grow and QB contracts continue to climb, Tagovailoa could be eyeing a significantly larger pay day than he likely would have received last year.

It’s uncertain if Tagovailoa’s camp would push for a deal that’s approaching Joe Burrow‘s league-leading $55MM per year, but the former first-round pick will surely be eyeing a cap hit that’s much larger than his $23.17MM salary via the fifth-year option in 2024. The Dolphins do have the franchise tag in their back pocket, so not all would be lost if the two sides are unable to agree to a deal.

The Dolphins’ disappointing end to the 2023 campaign briefly put Tagovailoa’s future with Miami in doubt. Ultimately, it sounds like both sides are committed to hammering out a deal sooner than later.

QB Tua Tagovailoa Expects To Remain With Dolphins Long-Term

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is under club control through 2024 by virtue of the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, but he anticipates being with the team for the foreseeable future. When asked at a Pro Bowl practice last week if he believes he and Miami will ultimately come to terms on a long-term deal, Tagovailoa said, “I believe that will happen” (via Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post).

In 2022, Mike McDaniel‘s first year as the Dolphins’ head coach, Tagovailoa was mostly terrific, as he led the league in quarterback rating (105.5), TD% (6.3%), and yards per attempt (8.9). Unfortunately, that season was also marred by several frightening concussions, and it was reported last August that the team would be tabling contract talks with the former first-rounder.

Tagovailoa managed to stay healthy for the entirety of the 2023 campaign, and although his interception percentage increased, he did lead the league in passing yards (4,624) while posting a 101.1 QB rating en route to his first Pro Bowl nod.

“My main goal this year was to play, you know, 17-plus games and I was able to accomplish that goal and just very fortunate that I was able to do that and very happy too,” Tagovailoa said.

Following consecutive seasons of high-end play, including a 2023 season that featured perfect attendance, it makes sense that the Dolphins would want to explore a multiyear deal with the southpaw passer sooner rather than later, especially since the quarterback market continues to surge with no ceiling in sight. Indeed, as Schad notes, GM Chris Grier recently said he wants to keep Tagovailoa in the fold for the long haul.

It is worth noting that Tagovailoa struggled in last season’s most meaningful games. Although he got off to a fast start in a Week 17 game in Baltimore, a contest in which control of the AFC’s No. 1 seed was on the line, Tagovailoa and his offense soon faltered, and he ultimately completed 22 of 38 passes for two TDs against two interceptions in a 56-19 blowout loss to the Ravens. That took the AFC’s top seed off the table, but the ‘Fins still had the chance to secure the AFC East title and a home playoff game if they could defeat the Bills in the regular season finale in South Beach.

Tagovailoa struggled in that contest as well, and the Dolphins’ loss to Buffalo forced the team to open the playoffs on the road against the eventual-AFC champion Chiefs. On a frigid Kansas City night in January, Tagovailoa again failed to muster much production, completing 20 of 39 passes for a paltry 199 yards (53 of which came on one throw), one TD, and one interception.

The Dolphins’ meek exit from the playoff field and Tagovailoa’s poor performance down the stretch led to renewed questions about his future in Miami, though player and team both apparently expect to continue their relationship for some time. However, with the Alabama product due a below-market $23.17MM salary on his fifth-year option in 2024, and controllable via the franchise tag in 2025, there is not necessarily any urgency — aside from the rising QB market referenced above — to get something done right now.

Spotrac estimates that Tagovailoa could land a six-year contract worth just over $300MM if he were currently on the open market.

Dolphins Tabling Extension Talks With Tua Tagovailoa, Christian Wilkins

Two notable members of the Dolphins won’t be signing extensions with the organization during the 2023 campaign. General manager Chris Grier revealed to reporters that the front office is tabling contract talks with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and defensive tackle Christian Wilkins until after the season. Per ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, Grier is tabling negotiations “as to not cause a distraction” during the upcoming regular season.

Wilkins would be the more pressing extension, as the defensive lineman is playing on his fifth-year option and is set to hit free agency following the season. The former 13th-overall pick has compiled 108 tackles and eight sacks in 34 games over the past two seasons, transforming into one of the team’s leaders on the defensive line.

However,Wilkins decided to stage a hold-in and not participate in training camp and preseason games while pursuing a new contract. Wilkins will be with the team in Week 1, and Grier revealed that there was no ill will between the two sides after they failed to agree to an extension.

“We’ve had a lot of great dialogue with him and his agent, very positive,” Grier said (h/t Alain Poupart of SI.com). “We made an offer that we thought was fair, and when you do things like that it has to work for both sides. And so there was never any ill will from each side. I enjoy his agent. We have good conversations. For right now we’re going to hold off until in my mind at the end of the season because I don’t think it’s fair to distract Christian from his goal of what he wants to achieve and for the team.”

Tagovailoa, meanwhile, is locked in through the 2024 campaign after the Dolphins picked up his fifth-year option earlier this offseason. The QB first became eligible to sign a new deal with the organization this year, which was good timing with the former fifth-overall pick coming off a career year.

Tagovailoa finished last season with 25 touchdowns passes vs. only eight interceptions, leading to his first career Pro Bowl nod. However, he was limited to 13 games for a second-straight season. Grier said the player’s ongoing concussion issues had nothing to do with a lack of an extension.

“I think just think for him, it’s just to let Tua play again,” Grier said (via Poupart). “Those things can be a big distraction, family, friends, you guys (the media), everyone constantly asking him about it. His agents and I have had discussions just general but not really about that and just kind of agreed, like, let’s just let him play out the season and then we’ll attack that in the offseason.”

Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa On Contract Situation

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is extension-eligible, but he is also under club control through 2024 since Miami exercised the fifth-year option of his rookie deal. Although GM Chris Grier suggested earlier this offseason — and before he picked up his QB’s fifth-year option — that an extension was on the table, Tagovailoa himself told reporters on Wednesday that there have been no long-term contract talks, at least not recently.

“I haven’t talked about any contract since what I’ve understood with my fifth-year [option],” Tagovailoa said (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).

Fellow 2020 draftee Justin Herbert recently landed a massive new deal from the Chargers, and Joe Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick of that class, will likely score an even more lucrative pact in short order. Players like Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson have also put pen to paper on eye-popping extensions this offseason.

Tagoailoa, though, is content with his current status. “I don’t think that’s a worry of mine,” he said. “When things come, they’ll come because you either deserved it or it’s supposed to happen that way.”

The Fins’ apparent desire to let the 2023 season play out before committing to Tagovailoa on a long-term basis is certainly understandable. The Alabama product made great strides under rookie head coach Mike McDaniel in 2022, but his season was also marked by serious concussion issues. He displayed concussion-like symptoms in Week 3 against the Bills, and while he returned to action shortly after that sequence, an NFLPA investigation into the Dolphins’ handling of the situation led to an overhaul of the NFL’s concussion protocol. Tagovailoa entered the protocol four days later, after being stretchered off the field in Cincinnati, and he was placed in the revised protocol a day after sustaining an unspotted concussion against Green Bay on Christmas Day. He missed four full games last year, and the head injuries — to say nothing of the time he missed due to other maladies over the 2020-21 campaigns — have obviously created cause for concern. He even admitted earlier this year that he considered retirement.

Fortunately, doctors have told Tagovailoa that CTE is not a concern for him, and that no medical evidence proves that concussions are more likely eight to 12 months after suffering one (or two, or three). As such, he is back on the field and looking to build upon an otherwise promising campaign in which he led the league in quarterback rating (105.5), TD% (6.3%), and yards per attempt (8.9). If he can do that while remaining healthy, he will be a legitimate extension candidate next offseason.

“I think regardless of what it is, if [the Dolphins] wanted to do it now, if they wanted to wait, whatever,” Tagovailoa said. “I think for myself, I’m always a person that wants to prove to myself that I deserve whatever I get. So for me, I feel like this is something that I need to work for. It’s as plain and simple as that.”

In related news, two contract-year members of Miami’s roster — center Connor Williams and DT Zach Sieler — timely reported to training camp. As Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets, both players are nonetheless continuing their push for new deals. Williams skipped mandatory mincamp and OTAs, and Sieler attended minicamp after missing at least some OTAs.

2024 NFL Fifth-Year Option Tracker

NFL teams have until May 2 to officially pick up fifth-year options on 2020 first-rounders who are entering the final year of their rookie deals. The 2020 CBA revamped the option structure and made them fully guaranteed, rather than guaranteed for injury only. Meanwhile, fifth-year option salaries are now determined by a blend of the player’s position, initial draft placement and performance- and usage-based benchmarks:

  • Two-time Pro Bowlers (excluding alternate Pro Bowlers) will earn the same as their position’s franchise tag.
  • One-time Pro Bowlers will earn the equivalent of the transition tag.
  • Players who achieve any of the following will get the average of the third-20th highest salaries at their position:
    • At least a 75% snap rate in two of their first three seasons
    • A 75% snap average across all three seasons
    • At least 50% in each of first three seasons
  • Players who do not hit any of those benchmarks will receive the average of the third-25th top salaries at their position.

With the deadline looming, we’ll use the space below to track all the option decisions from around the league:

  1. QB Joe Burrow, Bengals ($29.5MM): Exercised
  2. DE Chase Young, Commanders ($17.45MM): Declined
  3. CB Jeff Okudah, Falcons* ($11.51MM): N/A
  4. T Andrew Thomas, Giants ($14.18MM): Exercised
  5. QB Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins ($23.2MM): Exercised
  6. QB Justin Herbert, Chargers ($29.5MM): Exercised
  7. DT Derrick Brown, Panthers ($11.67MM): Exercised 
  8. LB Isaiah Simmons, Cardinals ($12.72MM): Declined
  9. CB C.J. Henderson, Jaguars** ($11.51MM): Declined
  10. T Jedrick Wills, Browns ($14.18MM): Exercised
  11. T Mekhi Becton, Jets ($12.57MM): Declined
  12. WR Henry Ruggs, Raiders: N/A
  13. T Tristan Wirfs, Buccaneers ($18.24MM): Exercised
  14. DT Javon Kinlaw, 49ers ($10.46MM): Declined
  15. WR Jerry Jeudy, Broncos ($14.12MM): Exercised
  16. CB AJ Terrell, Falcons ($12.34MM): Exercised
  17. WR CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys ($17.99MM): Exercised
  18. OL Austin Jackson, Dolphins ($14.18MM): Declined
  19. CB Damon Arnette, Raiders: N/A
  20. DE K’Lavon Chaisson, Jaguars ($12.14MM): Declined
  21. WR Jalen Reagor, Vikings*** ($12.99MM): To decline
  22. WR Justin Jefferson, Vikings ($19.74MM): Exercised
  23. LB Kenneth Murray, Chargers ($11.73MM): Declined
  24. G Cesar Ruiz, Saints ($14.18MM): Declined
  25. WR Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers ($14.12MM): Exercised
  26. QB Jordan Love, Packers ($20.27MM): Extended through 2024
  27. LB Jordyn Brooks, Seahawks ($12.72MM): Declined
  28. LB Patrick Queen, Ravens ($12.72MM): Declined
  29. T Isaiah Wilson, Titans: N/A
  30. CB Noah Igbinoghene, Dolphins ($11.51MM): Declined
  31. CB Jeff Gladney, Vikings: N/A
  32. RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Chiefs ($5.46MM): To decline

* = Lions traded Okudah on April 11, 2023
** = Jaguars traded Henderson on Sept. 27, 2021
*** = Eagles traded Reagor on August 31, 2022

Tua Tagovailoa Considered Retirement After Concussions

In a recent press conference, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa gave a candid response to a question asking whether or not he had considered “walking away” after a 2022 season in which he suffered multiple concussions.

“Yeah, I think I considered it, you know, for a time,” Tagovailoa said in reply. “Having sat down with my family, having sat down with my wife and having those kinds of conversations — but really, it would be hard for me to walk away from this game with how old I am, with my son. I always dreamed of playing as long as I could to where my son knew exactly what he was watching his dad do. It’s my health, it’s my body, and I feel like this is what’s best for me and my family. I mean, I love the game of football. If I didn’t, I would’ve quit a long time ago.”

Tagovailoa suffered three concussions during the 2022 season, resulting in him missing five games, including Miami’s first playoff game since 2016. This marked the third consecutive season to start his career where he hasn’t been able to play every game because of injury. He dealt with a jammed thumb and fractured ribs in his first two seasons. The concussions this year were the first he’d had diagnosed since college, but the sheer frequency of the injury this year caused him to deliberate.

The 25-year-old had undergone several medical evaluations since his most recent concussion and had decided that he couldn’t overlook what the medical information told him. Luckily, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the doctors gave Tagovailoa good news, stating that “no medical evidence proves” that concussions are more likely eight to twelve months after suffering concussions (no matter how many).

So, Tagovailoa will return for his fourth year in the NFL, and should, at the very least, be back for a fifth, after the Dolphins picked up his fifth-year option. In 2023, he will look to build off of last year, easily his most productive season. Miami retained most of the running backs room, and even though Tagovailoa lost tight end Mike Gesicki to New England in free agency, the young passer will have Chosen Anderson and Braxton Berrios as additional weapons in 2023.

Tagovailoa is expected to return and, according to medical opinion, should not be any more likely to suffer head injuries due to his history with concussions. He’s even practiced how best to fall in order to avoid such injuries.

Dolphins To Pick Up Tua Tagovailoa’s Fifth-Year Option

Fifth-year option decisions are not due for nearly two months, but the Dolphins are making it clear to Tua Tagovailoa he remains their centerpiece player.

The team has informed Tagovailoa his fifth-year option will be picked up, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). This will lock in the southpaw passer to $23.2MM in 2024. The 2020 CBA changed the fifth-year option to being guaranteed for injury only to fully guaranteeing players’ salaries.

At the Combine, the Dolphins were not as definitive about Tagovailoa’s future. Mike McDaniel did not guarantee the team would exercise the option, but several days later, the team is moving ahead with a nice show of confidence in its starter. This comes after Tagovailoa displayed considerable improvement but did so in a season that will be better remembered for his concussion issues. Those aside, Dolphins decision-makers have said they want Tagovailoa to be their starter for a long time.

Additional uncertainty emerged when reports began to surface indicating the Dolphins were surveying the QB market and considering outside options. This early option declaration could well be an effort by the franchise to show some faith. Following the Ravens’ decision to use the non-exclusive franchise tag on Lamar Jackson, it was reported the Dolphins are not expected to pursue the star talent. McDaniel remains behind Tagovailoa, with ESPN.com’s Jeff Darlington noting the second-year HC “fully believes Tua is the perfect fit for his system.”

This will be the first of three QB fifth-year options to be picked up before May, with the Bengals and Chargers certainly set to exercise the add-ons for Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert. It will be interesting to see how the Packers proceed with Jordan Love, who has ridden the bench for three seasons ahead of his option date. With Love looking likelier by the day to be Green Bay’s starter in 2023, he will have a decent chance of seeing that option exercised despite having been a career-long backup.

The Dolphins chose Tua one spot ahead of Herbert in 2020. While that decision has benefited the Chargers, Tagovailoa’s strides in 2022 narrowed the perception gap between these two AFC passers. After two unremarkable seasons, Tagovailoa took steps forward in McDaniel’s system. His unavailability aside, the Alabama alum finished the year third in QBR — behind only Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen — and ended his third season with 25 touchdown passes despite finishing only 12 games.

Miami’s season can be divided into two relatively separate sections: with and without Tua. The Dolphins went 8-4 in the games Tagovailoa finished. They were 1-5 in the other contests. Teddy Bridgewater‘s issues staying healthy also hurt Miami’s cause, leading to Skylar Thompson making unexpected starts — including in the team’s playoff game in Buffalo — but the Dolphins’ offense suffered immensely without its starting QB on the field. Tagovailoa has been cleared from concussion protocol, though his suffering at least two concussions — in addition to a controversial Week 3 sequence in which he showed concussion-like symptoms, leading to an overhaul to the NFL’s protocol — clouds his future. Nevertheless, the Dolphins are still betting on their former top-five investment.

After making an infamous run at Tom Brady last year and pursuing Deshaun Watson in 2021, the Dolphins will attempt to have a stable quarterback offseason. Jackson being a South Florida native would have made such a pursuit interesting, but teams have made early efforts to avoid doling out the fully guaranteed contract the former MVP seeks.

Dolphins Undecided On Tua Tagovailoa’s Fifth-Year Option

After making a number of sizeable moves last offseason, the Dolphins are unlikely to be active with respect to outside additions in 2023. The team does face a crucial internal decision with respect to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, however, and nothing has been committed to at this point.

As a first-round pick in 2020, Miami must decide on picking up Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option this year. The deadline for doing so is May 1, but the team may wait until very near that point to to pick up or decline it. When speaking about the subject publicly, head coach Mike McDaniel indicated that the Dolphins would be well-served to consider every option, though he did add that “both parties want him to play at a high level for a very long time for the Miami Dolphins” (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe).

Picking up Tagovailoa’s option would carry a cost of $23.17MM for the 2024 campaign. That figure would represent a bargain for starting-caliber QB play, especially considering the step forward the 25-year-old took under McDaniel this past season. Tagovailoa set career-highs across several categories in 2022, and led the league in passer rating and yards per attempt. Keeping him in place for at least the next two years would seem like a simple decision based on his production alone.

The Dolphins must keep in mind, of course, Tagovailoa’s injury history, something which complicates the situation. The Alabama product suffered at least two (potentially three) concussions in the 2022 season, which kept him sidelined for team’s postseason push and wild-card round loss to the Bills. He had a lengthy stay in the league’s concussion protocol after the Dolphins had been eliminated, something which has left some to seriously doubt his long-term playing future. Tagovailoa has since publicly praised the team’s decision to force him to sit out as a precaution, and is planning on taking new steps to better protect himself in the future.

Given his availability concerns, Miami would be wise to at least explore possible alternatives, and Josina Anderson of CBS Sports reports that the team is doing just that (video link). One of several options being weighed, she states, includes “potentially moving in a different direction” than Tagovailoa, something which would mark a highly underwhelming development given the recent draft capital invested in him.

Miami added veteran Teddy Bridgewater as a backup last offseason, but he dealt with multiple injuries of his own over the course of the year. Seventh-round rookie Skylar Thompson was called into action for two regular season games and the postseason contest, but a long-term starting option would need to be found in the absence of Tagovailoa next season. The Dolphins’ 2023 draft capital – hindered by last year’s tampering scandal – would not be sufficient to land one the class’ top passers as a developmental QB, which could point to Tagovailoa’s option being the safest option in the near-term to build off of 2022’s success.

Tua Tagovailoa Addresses Concussion Recovery, Offseason Plans

Tua Tagovailoa took a dramatic step forward in 2022 in terms of performance, but his season will be best remembered for the multiple concussions he suffered. The last one cost him the final two games of the regular season, as well as the Dolphins’ wild card loss.

The 24-year-old quarterback recently spoke about his path to recovery following the concussion he suffered on Christmas Day, which represented at least the second (if not third) which he dealt with this season. He didn’t clear the league’s protocol until last week, inviting questions about his and the team’s handling of the repeated head trauma.

While in conversation with Mackenzie Salmon of USA Today, Tagovailoa said, “for concussion protocol, I think the team did me the biggest service throughout that. They never allowed me to go through protocol normally until the season was done. So that’s why it might have seemed like it took forever, but they were just protecting me from myself. And me and my family are very thankful to the Dolphins” (video link).

The fact that Miami kept the former No. 5 overall pick from navigating the standard return procedure until after their season was over is striking. The Dolphins’ handling of Tagovailoa earlier in the year led to an NFLPA investigation and the implementation of new concussion protocols midway through the year. It comes as no surprise that an abundance of caution was used this winter, even with that approach leaving Miami without their top signal-caller in the postseason.

The Alabama product is taking steps this offseason aimed at preventing a repeat of his 2022 injury woes. One of them will involve taking up judo, as detailed by Yahoo! Sports’ Jason Owens. Tagovailoa said the martial art will help “figure out understanding my body and how to fall,” something which could in turn prevent harder head contact after hits compared to this past season.

If successful, Tagovailoa could set himself up for a repeat of this year’s success (when healthy). Now eligible for an extension, the former Heisman finalist recently changed agents with the team’s fifth-year option decision due to be made soon. How much faith the Dolphins place in him from a financial and roster standpoint – in terms of acquiring a high-end backup QB as insurance – will be an interesting storyline as the offseason unfolds.