NEWSLETTER
Eli Manning will always be remembered for engineering two Super Bowl championship-winning drives against the New England Patriots.
And to think, neither would have happened had he and his family been unsuccessful in pushing a draft-day trade that kept him from being a member of the Chargers and drove him into the arms of the Giants franchise. You can read all about that from Steven Serby of the New York Post, who brought the story back to life in the wake of Manning’s retirement.
And when you’re done with that, return to the present, where a similar situation could be unfolding ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald hears there isn’t much love from Tua Tagovailoa’s camp on the prospect of the Detroit Lions drafting the Alabama standout quarterback.
Here is an excerpt from Salguero’s report: “Sources close to Tagovailoas say the Alabama quarterback would love for the Dolphins to trade up to No. 3 to select him. Those same sources say they don’t love the idea of Detroit actually picking Tua because of the arc of that team’s current coaching situation.”
If you’ll recall, the Lions’ current situation isn’t an enviable one. Ownership has been approached about interest in buying the team, but has no interest in selling. Fans expressed a desire for change in the front office and at head coach throughout the season, but were met with the higher-ups issuing a vote of confidence in GM Bob Quinn and Head Coach Matt Patricia. However, they did so in a way in which both were immediately put on the hot seat. Quinn’s teams haven’t put together a non-losing season since firing Jim Caldwell, while Patricia is 9-22-1 in two seasons since jumping in as a replacement. Yeah … no wonder Tagovailoa – expected to be the second quarterback drafted in this class – is reported to have no interest in taking his talents to Motown.
In addition to all that losing, the Lions already have a franchise quarterback in Matthew Stafford – albeit a 31-year-old signal caller who suffered some pretty gruesome injuries that kept him out of the lineup for a good chunk of the season.
Still Tagovailoa could go to Detroit, sit behind Stafford as the heir apparent, then take over when ready. In most cases, that would be a welcome situation for a young quarterback (especially one coming off an injury-shortened season like Tagovailoa). But the rocky situation at the top of the organizational structure should make anyone nervous.
Let’s keep up with happens with the Lions, who have the No. 3 pick and could conceivably draft Tagovailoa despite the rumored feelings he has about Detroit’s situation. They could select Tagovailoa in hopes of swaying his line of thinking, or to deal him to a team wanting to cough up the necessary draft capital to make it worth their while. As we learned with Manning and the Giants years ago, there is precedence for how this situation could unfold. With that in mind, the Dolphins and Lions just became two teams worth keeping an eye on as the offseason unfolds.
