While Detroit Lions fans are clamoring to see who their franchise will draft with the third overall draft pick in this year’s NFL Draft, you can count one former player and current analyst among those who don’t want to see them select Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
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“I think very highly of Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia. They have to win. A lot of times when you take a player, but mainly a quarterback, your job security is based on performance. If he does well, you’re going to have a job. If he doesn’t, you’re going to get fired,” Orlovsky explained during an interview at radio row at Super Bowl 54.
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“Tua is a totally different animal. Not only is your job security tied to Tua’s performance, it’s also tied to his health. It’s going to take a general manager and a head coach that are safe in their position to draft Tua that early.”
For Orlovsky, Tagovailoa’s health is another issue. If healthy, the former Crimson Tide quarterback is projected to be a top 5 selection. But a hip injury suffered this past November that forced him to miss the remainder of the season could give teams pause.
“There is the potential that injury is a real thing. And we don’t know right now. I think Tua is going to be a great pro, but the reality is what it is,” he said. “For a team to take him at 3, and the coach and the general manager need to win, I don’t think a team should take Tua with the anticipation that he will play next year.”
Tagovailoa underwent surgery to repair his dislocated hip and posterior wall fracture, and the procedure was done by Dr. Chip Routt at the Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston. Alabama team physician Dr. Lyle Cain issued a statement at the time that the surgery was “successful” and that his “prognosis is excellent,” and then also added Dr. Cain and his staff “expect him to make a full recovery.”
Is Orlovsky out to lunch with this view?
