The Deshaun Watson rumors won’t go away in Miami, in large part because the Dolphins still have not slammed the door on a trade for Deshaun Watson.
On Wednesday, coach Brian Flores came the closest that he has to becoming the latest Dolphins coach to make an unequivocal statement that eventually could be proven false.
“Tua [Tagovailoa] is our quarterback,” Flores told reporters, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “He’s had a good training camp, made a lot of progress, made a lot of improvement. We’re pleased with where he is.”
Tua definitely is their quarterback. But circumstances can change in football. Nine days ago, Cam Newton was the starting quarterback in New England. And now? Not.
The Dolphins remain interested in Watson. If the Texans reduce their demands and/or if the Dolphins decide that, for 10 or more years with Deshaun, it’s worth sweetening the pot, it can still happen. The only relevant deadline is the Tuesday after Week Eight, when the window closes on all trades until March 15.
With the question of whether the Dolphins will trade for Watson becoming a distraction, Flores had to put out the fire. He reportedly did so with his players yesterday, and he did so with the media today.
But “Tua is our quarterback” isn’t “Tua will be our quarterback all season” or even “We won’t trade for Deshaun Watson.” While at this point it looks like the two teams won’t be getting together on a trade in the immediate future, things can and do change at any time.
That’s when “Tua is our quarterback” quickly would become “Tua was our quarterback.”