Dolphins trade pitch offers possible long-term help for Miami at quarterback

The Miami Dolphins are in a bad way right now at 2-4, and things don't figure to get better until quarterback Tua Tagovailoa returns from his latest concussion.

While head coach Mike McDaniel expects Tua to play again in 2024, Tagovailoa's return timeline remains unclear. The Dolphins signal-caller is eligible to come off injured reserve after the upcoming game against the Indianapolis Colts, but there's zero guarantee he actually will.

With uncertainty surrounding the Dolphins' quarterback situation, both now and in the long term due to the risk of reinjury for Tua, ESPN's Bill Barnwell wants to see Miami pull off a trade for Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. The trade would see Miami sending Carolina a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick.

Backup quarterback is a clear weakness for the Dolphins. They cut Mike White before the season, and when Skylar Thompson struggled before getting injured, they turned to Tyler Huntley, who has managed 290 passing yards in two starts. Trading for Young would give them a higher-upside option behind Tagovailoa with the potential to eventually emerge as the long-term starter if Tagovailoa eventually leaves the sport.

The Panthers don't have much leverage in a potential Young trade, so a conditional pick in 2026 would make sense. Here, the Panthers would get a fourth-round pick with the potential for that pick to rise based on Young's performance. That pick would upgrade to a third-rounder if he throws for 1,500 yards in 2025 or a second-rounder if he makes it to 3,000 yards.

The Panthers benched Young earlier in the season because of lackluster play, and despite the fact that the team has said it isn't looking to trade him , the fact that Carolina hasn't gone back to Young after three straight losses with Andy Dalton under center suggests it's at least possible.

The Dolphins have struggled mightily with Skylar Thompson and Tyler Huntley, and while Young isn't guaranteed to be an upgrade over them based on what we've seen from the former No. 1 overall pick over a year-plus in the NFL, he at least offers another option and some possible long-term insurance for Tua.

Young would have a head coach who can figure out how to get the most out of him, and the Alabama product would have a bevy of weapons at his disposal, putting Young in a much better situation to succeed.

For just a conditional fourth-round pick, it would absolutely make sense for Miami to take a flyer on Young, although it remains to be seen if that would be enough for Carolina to give up on its former top pick.