The Miami Dolphins announced on Wednesday that they were benching Tua Tagovailoa amid the quarterback’s struggles. The Dolphins promoted rookie Quinn Ewers to QB1, with Zach Wilson to serve as his backup. Tagovailoa is listed as Miami’s emergency QB.

Since Tagovailoa’s future with the Dolphins has been the talk of the town, analyst Colin Cowherd made some eye-catching comments regarding how the signal-caller could have ended up with the LA Chargers at the 2020 NFL draft. During his podcast on Thursday, Cowherd said that then-Chargers general manager Tom Telesco had planned to draft Tagovailoa before taking former Oregon QB Justin Herbert in the first round.

“Tom (Telesco) liked both (Tagovailoa and Herbert),” Cowherd said. “Tom was leaning Tua because he thought Herbert was mechanical; he was a little stiff. Tom goes, ‘I’m going to the Rose Bowl, Oregon’s taking on Wisconsin.’ … He went and watched him (Herbert), and I said, ‘What did you think?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, you got to see Herbert in person. First of all, he’s way bigger in person than on TV.’ And Tom said, ‘Secondly, he is really, really athletic.’

“Tom came to the conclusion that Mario Cristobal (then-Oregon coach) did not have a backup he believed in. So they played a very super conservative offense … Protect Justin, we don’t have a backup we love. Mario knew it was a really good team that could get to a Rose Bowl. And then you get to play Wisconsin, and you’re like, okay, kid, do your magic.”

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Herbert led Oregon to a 28-27 win over Wisconsin in January 2020, which impressed Telesco. The then-Ducks QB went 14 of 20 for 138 yards with an interception, while adding 29 yards and three TDs on nine carries.

The Dolphins took Tagovailoa with the No. 5 pick in the 2020 draft. The Chargers took Herbert with the No. 6 pick that year.

Tua Tagovailoa opens up on being benched by Dolphins

Later on Wednesday, Tua Tagovailoa was asked about his feelings about the Dolphins’ QB1 change.

“Disappointed. I’m not happy about it, but it’s something out of my control,” Tagovailoa said.

Tagovailoa also said he wasn’t too sure if he played his last game for Miami when asked about his future with the team.

As a starter for Miami this season, Tua Tagovailoa has completed 260 of 384 passes for 2,660 yards with 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He led the Dolphins to a 6-8 record, with the team eliminated from playoff contention.