NFL fans call for Dolphins to make stunning Shedeur Sanders trade after Tua Tagovailoa horror show vs Colts
It was a night to forget for the Miami Dolphins.
And especially for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was abject in his team's 33-8 Week 1 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Tagovailoa's stats vs Colts paint a bleak picture
While no Dolphin played well, the spotlight is on quarterback Tagovailoa, who had a day to forget.
The 27-year-old completed 14-of-23 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.
He now has two multiturnover games in his past three starts.
Tagovailoa also had a 51.7 passer rating, the lowest of his career in games that he has completed.
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He also had his fewest passing yards in a game since the last game of the 2021 season.
Head coach Mike McDaniel accepted Tagovailoa's poor performance but added that no one else played well either.
"It was something left to be desired ... there's throws he makes nine times out of 10, and he didn't make them today," McDaniel said.
£Definitely not all on him -- too many people failed at the execution of their jobs for him to have anything extra on his shoulders.
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"Like the rest of the team, [his performance] wasn't good enough."
Despite McDaniel's best efforts to take the spotlight away from Tagovailoa, criticism of the quarterback was intense on social media.
"I’m seriously done with Tua. All of you that slandered him for years, you were right and I was wrong. I’m sorry," one fan wrote on X
"There were real humans out there who waited 7 months to watch Tua as their teams QB. My condolences," another fan posted.
Dolphins fans rue Shedeur Sanders' mistake
It would be fair to say Tagovailoa's relationship with Dolphins fans hangs in the balance.
After a promising start to his Miami career in the 2023 season, it's been pretty much downhill from there.
Tua had a poor campaign last year, which saw the Dolphins fail to make the playoffs and spark Tyreek Hill's exit comments, and now he's had a dreadful start to the 2025 season.
Some Miami fans are ready for a new signal caller, and some are calling for the arrival of Shedeur Sanders.
"Miami Dolphins need to trade for Shedeur Sanders," one fan posted on X.
"Dolphins might be making that phone call about Shedeur by Week 3," another added.
"Dolphins need an adult playing qb. This Tua experiment isn’t working or consistent. Get Shedeur, cause Zach Wilson ain’t it," one fan wrote.
"If I were running the Dolphins, I’d call Cleveland to see if Shedeur is available Tua is cooked man my god," another posted.
Sanders could have been a Dolphins player
Sanders, who was expected to be a first-round pick but was taken in the fifth round, was passed up by Miami in April's draft.
However, it was unlikely the Dolphins were ever going to use their first-round pick on a quarterback, considering they have a starter who is on a $212 million contract.
They did have a 48th and 98th pick, though, and either could have been used on Sanders, who ended up being selected by the Browns as the 144th pick.
A developmental project with Sanders could have been a smart move by Miami, who are now effectively stuck with Tagovailoa, as it would cost $79.2m in dead cap space to cut him.
While Sanders himself is stuck on the fringes of the Browns squad as their QB3.
He sits behind Dilion Gabriel and QB1 Joe Flacco after an intense quarterback battle during the preseason, which saw him impress on his debut, but by the end, he drew some criticism for his final performance.
The Browns opened their season with a 17-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
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Flacco's performance saw him complete 31 of 45 passes for 290 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
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