Tua Tagovailoa's hip injury is a major concern for the Dolphins

It has been almost six years since Tua Tagovailoa went down while playing for Alabama. The hip injury ended his college career, but it didn't hurt his draft stock. The Miami Dolphins still took him fifth overall.

Five years later, that same hip is giving Tua problems, and this should be a serious concern for the Dolphins. Tua missed Sunday's game against the Browns, and Miami has to find a solution for the future because this isn't going to go away.

While early indications were that this was not a serious injury, Mike McDaniel told the media that he did not play because there was risk of doing more damage. McDaniel said, "Super-susceptible to a more serious injury." That wasn't what was being reported earlier. It also brings up more questions about Tua's hip health.

At some point, Tagovailoa is going to take another shot to the hip. What if it costs him more than a game or two? It could cost him a season. That was a concern when he was coming out of college. Would his surgery and subsequent rehab be enough to stop it from happening again? This may not fully answer that question, but it should be enough for the Dolphins to consider what his future could include.

Tua Tagovailoa injury is concerning for the Dolphins

Making this more concerning is the fact Miami didn't initially consider the injury serious, but it was bothering Tua enough that he stayed out of an important game.

Miami took a risk when it drafted Tagovailoa. Should the team have let him play on his fifth-year option before offering him a new deal?

Chris Grier jumped the gun on Tua's contract. There was a lot of pressure to get a new deal done, but he had his quarterback under contract this year and should have let this season play out. Grier opted to get an extension done as training camp was starting.

In his five seasons thus far, Tua has only managed to stay healthy for one season, 2023. He missed significant time in 2022, and this year, he has missed five games as well. Miami needs to realize they took a risk on Tagovailoa, and so far, it is proving to be a continued question mark. At worst, it should be the wake-up call to get a quality backup quarterback.