Is Tua Tagovailoa playing today vs. Texans in Week 9?

Tua Tagovailoa has recently been in the news for some of the wrong football-related issues. Just weeks ago, it was widely reported that the Miami Dolphins were initially wanting to engage in talks for the beleaguered quarterback of the Houston Texans, Deshaun Watson.

And now, a Week 9 game already lacking reasons to tune in just got uglier thanks to Tua Tagovailoa's status.

Will Tua Tagovailoa play on Sunday against the Houston Texans?

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the embattled Miami Dolphins franchise quarterback will miss Sunday's home tilt against the Houston Texans (1 p.m. ET, CBS) with "a small fracture in the middle finger of his throwing hand." Backup Jacoby Brissett will start in his place.

Tagovailoa's absence from the starting lineup presents a bizarre twist: a further report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport indicates that Tagovailoa is too injured to start but will dress as Brissett's backup.

Miami (1-7) has kept only Tagovailoa and Brissett as the active quarterbacks on the roster with the well-traveled Jake Dolegala residing on the practice squad.

Thus presents yet another setback for the Dolphins' would-be franchise quarterback. Previous injuries forced the second-year man out of Alabama to miss three games earlier this season, forcing Brissett and the since-waived Reid Sinnett to take over in his place.

Tagovailoa, the fifth overall pick in 2020's virtual NFL Draft, saw his status as Miami's future questioned as the Dolphins floundered to the tune of seven straight losses after a season-opening win over New England. His struggles were enough to reportedly place Miami in the thick of the currently-closed Deshaun Watson sweepstakes.

Tagovailoa put in a strong two-week stretch with narrow losses to Jacksonville and Atlanta (620 yards, 6 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 102.7 passer rating) but fell back to earth in a 26-11 defeat at the hands of the division rival Buffalo Bills last Sunday (21-of-39, 205 yards, 1 interception).

The emergence of Los Angeles' Justin Herbert, chosen by the Chargers with the very next pick in the 2020 draft, has done little to soothe concerns about his future in Miami. Even if the Dolphins hoped to move on from Tagovailoa in the upcoming draft class, their regularly-scheduled first-round pick (currently second on the 2022 draft board) belongs to Philadelphia through a process that eventually landed them receiver Jaylen Waddle.

Miami does own the current 12th overall selection through a deal with San Francisco in the same process.

Brissett, a first-year Dolphins player, will take over as quarterback against the equally woebegone Texans (1-7). The former Indianapolis Colts quarterback tallied a 90.0 passer rating with 689 yards, five total touchdowns (one rushing) and an interception over his first three starts of the year.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags