Opinion: A Trey Lance tryout trade makes sense for Miami

This isn’t exactly a news flash, but the Miami Dolphins suddenly find themselves in a very tough spot. Tua Tagovailoa’s devastating concussion against the Bills on Thursday night placed their entire season in jeopardy, especially since many former NFL players are calling for him to retire based on the potentially debilitating effects of multiple concussions.

Amazingly, the Dolphins major option at this point is still primary backup Skylar Thompson, the former Kansas State product whose career track record virtually screams “lost season.” Dolphins did sign Tyler Huntley of the Ravens as a depth move, but there’s nothing about Huntley’s numbers that suggest he’d do much better than Thompson if he was inserted into the lineup. The problem is that there are few good alternatives this early in the season, but there may be a better trade option is Miami is willing to pull the trigger.

Photo byGene GallinonUnsplash

A Trey Lance tryout is a worthwhile gamble for the Dolphins

Trey Lance may be that better option. It’s a stretch, of course, but Lance played mostly well during his preseason cameos for the Cowboys. He was a trade-and-stash acquisition for the Dallas Cowboys last year, as Jerry Jones gambled on picking up a distressed QB asset just in case the Dak Prescott contract negotiations didn’t work out.

But Dak’s record extension is safely on the books and in the rear view, and Cooper Rush has established himself as a viable backup in case Prescott gets hurt. That makes Lance expendable, especially since he’s making just over $5 million a year.

Not only that, but Lance showed enough in the preseason to make him a worthwhile gamble. He was solid and successful in his first two preseason games, although a five-pick disaster against the Chargers in the final preseason game took some of the shine off his showing.

Miami coach Mike McDaniel is the perfect coach to experiment with Lance’s unique athleticism and see if he can turn bring out the Dallas QB’s attributes. Jones might drive a hard bargain initially, but if McDaniel likes what he sees on tape this scenario makes too much sense not to be at least considered.

What Trey Lance brings to the table and how it fits in Miami

McDaniel has had success utilizing an athletic quarterback, but Tagovailoa is small and he hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Still, rolling him out of the pocket has been a staple of the Miami offense for a couple of years, along with extensive motion and misdirection to get star wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle running free.

Lance’s skills would add another level to the coach’s tricks and schemes. He’s bigger and faster than Tua, and in theory he’s less of a risk-taker, although Lance has also been injured during his time in San Francisco. Yes, he’s been turnover-prone, but given the probability that Tagovailoa’s injury is areer ending, it would be more than worthwhile for the Dolphins to take a flyer on Lance.

As a side note, it could also help save McDaniel’s job. The luster goes off his motion offense if Skylar Thompson is the guy running it, so the Miami coach has his own career to worry about in this situation as well. The Dolphins are already putting some subtle pressure on Tagovailoa by not putting him directly on IR, but the risks of bringing Tua back are both obvious and potentially dangerous.

What it would might take to get Trey Lance to Miami

Given all of this, the question becomes what it would take to get Trey Lance to Miami. Jones gave up a fourth-round pick to get him from the Niners, so he’d probably want at least that much in return, and the Dallas owner would undoubtedly try to drive a hard bargain.

But Jones has a financial stake in this as well. He’s currently paying his third string quarterback a huge amount of money given the likelihood that Lance will never see the field in Dallas. Eventually the logic of trying to get value for an unused asset would take precedence, and that’s when a deal could be made. It would take a lot of haggling and dickering to get this one done by October 29th, but this is one of those trades that almost makes too much sense for it not to at least get strong consideration.

This article was originally written by Bob McCullough