Tua Tagovailoa suffered the back injury heard ’round the (football) world last Sunday, and he’s also dealing with an ankle issue ahead of the Dolphins’ Thursday Night Football matchup with the Bengals. Tagovailoa has developed into a fringe QB1 in fantasy this season, and with several other prominent QBs either struggling or facing tough matchups this week (Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady), there might be more than a few fantasy owners who need the latest updates on Tua’s status before locking in their first start ’em, sit ’em decision of Week 4.
We’ll continue to update this article with news on Tagovailoa up until the official active/inactive report comes out on Thursday around 6:50 p.m. ET.
Is Tua Tagovailoa playing Thursday night?
Miami coach Mike McDaniel said Tuesday that “if this were an actual real practice in a normal week, Tua would be limited and he would be questionable for the game.” He added that he’s “optimistic” about Tagovailoa’s chances of suiting up and that the young QB is doing everything he can to make sure he’s on the field.
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FD Lineup | DK Lineup | Mixon update
Tagovailoa has alternated between mediocre and great in the first three weeks, sandwiching a 469-yard, six-TD eruption between two ho-hum one-TD games. Given the weapons he has to work with, namely Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, Tagovailoa is always a candidate for a big fantasy performance, even against a Cincinnati defense allowing the fourth-fewest fantasy points to QBs. It’s important to note that the Bengals have faced Mitchell Trubisky, Cooper Rush, and Joe Flacco so far this year, so take that No. 4 ranking with a grain of salt. We have Tagovailoa slotted in at No. 10 among QBs this week.
WEEK 4 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kicker
If Tagovailoa can’t play, veteran Teddy Bridgewater will get the start. Bridgewater is a similar QB, and even though we wouldn’t rank him quite as high as Tua, he can certainly be viewed as a deep-league streamer. More important, Bridgewater’s presence wouldn’t have much affect on Waddle and Hill, as both are “must-starts” either way. TE Mike Gesicki and possibly even RBs Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert lose a little value, but chances are, fantasy owners weren’t starting Gesicki anyway. Both Edmonds and Mostert are nothing more than low-end flexes with or without Tagovailoa.
WEEK 4 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kicker
Right now, it feels as if Tagovailoa is more on the “probable” side than truly “questionable,” but given his health history — nine separate injuries dating back to his college days, according to the Draft Sharks’ injury predictor — we probably won’t feel comfortable about his status until the official announcement 90 minutes prior to the game.
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