Is Tua Tagovailoa playing tonight vs Texans in Week 9?

Tua Tagovailoa may be playing on borrowed time, but he still gives the Miami Dolphins the best chance to win. With injury issues in college and having already missed time in 2021, Dolphins fans are on pins and needles with the quarterback. Will Tagovailoa play tonight against the Houston Texans? Many think the Dolphins' ability to win may hinge on his availability.

Will Tua Tagovailoa play against the Texans?

The Dolphins have a litany of injuries on the offensive side of the ball, including Tua Tagovailoa. According to CBS Sports, Tagovailoa has a finger injury that kept him limited in practice on Friday. He is listed as questionable for the tilt against the Texans.

It was not the first limited practice for the quarterback this week, which suggests that Tagovailoa's finger injury is more than nothing. One can only hope that his repeated limited practices are precautionary in nature. If Tagovailoa has walked into practice each day hoping to fully participate before hitting a wall and ending practice early, the Dolphins have a big problem on their hands.

In any case, if Tagovailoa is unable to play tonight, the Dolphins have the luxury of Jacoby Brissett. Brissett is a journeyman quarterback who began as a third-string backup for Tom Brady in New England and has since bounced around the league. In his career, he has thrown for 35 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He also has 55 games of experience and has started 35 games.

Miami Dolphins v Tampa Bay Buccaneers

As far as backup quarterbacks go, it's easy to do worse than Brissett. He has a lot of starting experience and a decent statline to boot. Brissett has already seen snaps in six games this season and has started three games. Unfortunately, while Brissett has thrown for four touchdowns and two interceptions, his team is 0-3 this season in games he has started.

Even though Brissett hasn't won in Miami, he's done about as well as the starter on the stat sheet. Through five games, Tagovailoa has thrown for seven touchdowns and five interceptions. That's a lower interception ratio than Brissett had this season. This sets off plenty of red flags about Tagovailoa's future with the team after the season.

Put simply, while Tagovailoa's success may give the Dolphins more hope for the future with the quarterback, their odds may be very similar to either Brissett or Tagovailoa under center tonight. Can the Dolphins get a feel-good win against the Texans tonight or will they stoop even further towards a top draft pick in 2022?