As Jackson and Allen loom, explaining when Tagovailoa can run. Player poached
A six-pack of Dolphins notes heading into Thursday’s home game against Baltimore (8:20 p.m., Amazon Prime, CBS 4):
▪ The Dolphins, during the next 11 days, will face the NFL’s most dangerous quarterback runners, two of the best in modern history in that regard.
But while the Dolphins will try to keep Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and Buffalo’s Josh Allen from running wild, the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa will need to navigate that difficult balance between taking yards when they’re available but also protecting himself from risk of injuries or another concussion.
In a postseason news conference in January, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier made very clear that Tagovailoa must do a better job of protecting himself. Tagovailoa has taken the message to heart, sliding on nearly all of his 11 rushes this season, even when it was short of a first down.
“That all happens thinking-wise in milliseconds, I feel like,” he said.
The Dolphins and Tagovailoa have discussed when he should try to squeeze out extra yards on those plays and when he should simply slide.
But it’s not black and white. And offensive coordinator Frank Smith confirmed that Tagovailoa has not been specifically told when he should run and when he should not. There are no “absolutes,” Smith said.
When the game is on the line late, Tagovailoa has the green light to gain as many yards as he can. It’s a judgment call for Tagovailoa on third downs earlier in the game; he slid short of the first down marker on a third down with the Dolphins trailing by a large margin in Cleveland two weeks ago.
“No doubt where we need it in order for us to go down and maybe potentially stay on the field, yeah, for sure” go for it, Tagovailoa said.
Tagovailoa’s 11 rushes this season have gained 38 yards. He’s averaging 2.9 per rush on 164 career carries.
His rushing attempts over his six seasons: 36 as a rookie, 42, 23, 35 in 2023, 17 last season (in 11 games) and 11 so far this season. His 3.5 per carry average this season would be a career high.
It will be interesting to see if Jackson runs as much after missing three games with a hamstring injury. Jackson has rushed for more yards (6,339) than any quarterback in history. He has averaged 6.1 yards per carry and has 34 rushing touchdowns.
Allen, whose Bills visit the Dolphins on Nov. 9, is sixth on the NFL’s all-time quarterback rushing list with 4,403. He has 70 touchdowns and averages 5.4 yards per carry.
Michael Vick, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson and Randall Cunningham are second through fifth on the NFL’s all-time quarterback rushing list, between Jackson and Allen.
▪ The Patriots poached safety John Saunders Jr. off the Dolphins’ practice squad, according to a source.
Saunders, at Mississippi, led the Southeastern Conference in takeaways last season (four forced fumbles, three interceptions) and flashed at times during Dolphins training camp. New England traded safety Kyle Dugger to the Steelers this week.
▪ The Dolphins, who succeeded with a run-heavy plan in the 34-10 win against Atlanta, will be playing run defenses that rank 23rd (Baltimore), 31st (Buffalo) and 22nd (Washington, which was gashed by Kansas City this week) over the next three games.
The Ravens are vulnerable against the pass too (28th). Baltimore is 28th in yards allowed per game. (Miami is 23rd.)
Baltimore is allowing 30 points per game — which is ahead of only Dallas and Cincinnati. Miami is 26th in scoring defense, permitting 26.9 points per game.
On the flip side, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky noted that this will be the first game together this season for the entire cast of Jackson, receivers Rashod Bateman and DeAndre Hopkins, and fullback Patrick Ricard (along with perennial Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry and receiver Zay Flowers). Orlovsky and Mina Kimes said the Ravens offense should “dominate” Miami’s defense.
▪ Center Aaron Brewer has been doing a very good job; Pro Football Focus rates him the third-best center in the league and the fourth best in run blocking.
Asked Tuesday if he’s playing as well as he ever has, he said: “No, I feel like I’m playing better right now.”
His pass blocking has improved considerably since he came over as a free agent from Tennessee in March 2024. After permitting six sacks with the Titans in 2023, he permitted only two for Miami last season and none this season.
▪ ESPN’s Adam Schefter told The Pat McAfee Show that “I think the Dolphins will move at least one of their pass rushers, Jaelan Phillips or Bradley Chubb” before next Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Phillips is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March; he has only two sacks but ranks 20th among all edge players with 27 pressures, per PFF. Chubb, who has four sacks, has no guaranteed money due after this season.
Trading one would create more playing time for Chop Robinson, who said last week that playing more allows pass rushers such as himself to get into a better rhythm. (Robinson’s snaps have been in the 20s most games.)
▪ CBS 4 won local broadcast rights to Thursday’s game on Amazon Prime and to the Nov. 16 game in Spain against Washington on NFL Network. Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit call Thursday’s game.
The Dolphins’ Dec. 21 home game against Cincinnati is very much at risk of being removed from NBC’s Sunday night schedule and switched to an afternoon start. The Dolphins’ Monday night ESPN game at Pittsburgh on Dec. 15 is eligible to be flexed out but might not be.
Here’s my Tuesday piece with 10 Dolphins quick hits.
Here’s my Tuesday piece with news from Mike McDaniel, including backup QB resolution.
This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 10:09 AM.
