Tua Tagovailoa’s draft stock remains one of the biggest mysteries heading into the 2020 NFL Draft as many claim the former Alabama signal-caller is too big of an injury risk to be taken in the top 5 while others claim the gap between Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert is massive.

We won’t have very long to wait to find out which side is more accurate with their assessment but for the time being, Carson Palmer has weighed in on the debate and the former NFL quarterback is among the many claiming Tua’s injury history simply cannot be ignored.

During a recent appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show,” Palmer was asked what concerns he has about Tagovailoa entering the 2020 NFL Draft.

“Outside the injury issue, I really love everything,” Palmer answered. “That injury issue, it’s so easy to sweep that under the rug, ‘Well he’s got a big injury issue but x, y and z.’ No. It all starts there. If you’re having a difficult time staying healthy in college, it really worries me that you’re going to be able to stay healthy for, you know, 30 percent more games, 40 percent more games, and bigger, you know, more physical guys hitting you and potentially injuring you.”

Another argument some have made when it comes to projecting Tagovailoa’s success at the game’s highest level is the fact he may have had better weapons around him at Alabama then he will in the NFL.

That’s something Palmer has also noted when studying Tagovailoa’s college film.

“That injury thing really is a big deal but the other thing that kind of jumps out when you watch this film, he’s playing with NFL receivers, and not just NFL receivers, he’s playing with first and second-round picks,” Palmer added. “You look at these receivers they have on that roster, man, it’d be hard not to be productive at Alabama and in that offense, you’ve got Henry Ruggs and you some of the speedsters, they have on the outside they have two or three guys that are first or second-round picks.”

All that being said, would Palmer select Tua with the No. 5 selection in the 2020 NFL Draft if he was picking for the Miami Dolphins?

“No. No. The injury thing worries me,” Palmer answered. “I love his game, I love his leadership, there are so many things that you could fall in love with him. But at the end of the day, one of the best abilities in the league is durability, and if you’re not durable in college, it’s just, you very rarely see guys that aren’t durable guys in college when they get to the NFL, all sudden they’re healthy every week. That thing jumps out at me and worries me about Tua.”