Former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum views Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa as the league’s least durable quarterback

The NFL regular season is still months away — so the league’s 24/7 news cycle has shifted to tiers and rankings.

Mike Tannenbaum, who spent time as general manager of the New York Jets and executive vice president of football operations for the Miami Dolphins, shared his position overview for quarterbacks Monday night.

He listed Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as the league's best quarterback, while Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence was marked as an “emerging quarterback.” For quarterbacks in the AFC East, Josh Allen, of the Buffalo Bills, is the “most durable” — while Tua Tagovailoa is listed as the league’s “least durable” quarterback.

As a rookie, Tagovailoa missed a game after jamming his thumb in practice and played in 10 games throughout the 2020 season (while competing with Ryan Fitzpatrick for the starting job). He played in 13 games in each of the last two seasons. In 2021, he was placed on injured reserve with fractured ribs. Last season, Tagovailoa missed a handful of games due to head injuries.

While Miami’s franchise quarterback has missed his fair share of games — we’re not breaking news by noting that football is a tough, physical game where most players deal with a variety of injuries each-and-every season.

That being said, Tagovailoa is working to avoid future head injuries by learning judo throughout the offseason and only time will tell if it helps negate the injuries.

Tagovailoa’s injury history is worth bringing up, but after throwing 25 touchdowns and just eight interceptions throughout 13 games — while leading the league in passer rating — one relatively healthy season is all it would take to change the narrative surrounding the 2018 SEC Offensive Player of the Year.