The Miami Dolphins reportedly fired head coach Brian Flores in large part because he didn’t believe in Tua Tagovailoa. If that’s the case, one of the quarterback’s teammates might have to hope his anonymous criticism isn’t uncovered.
Miami is committed to Tagovailoa, the No. 5 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Despite two disappointing seasons, with the signal-caller battling inconsistency and injuries, the Dolphins want to build around him.
While general manager Chris Grier and team owner Stephen Ross are confident in that decision, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus in the locker room.
- Tua Tagovailoa stats (2021): 2,653 passing yards, 16-10 TD-INT ratio, 90.1 QB rating, 67.7% completion rate
Omar Kelly of The Sun-Sentinel says he spoke to an unnamed Dolphins’ defender who believes Miami continuing to stick by Tagovailoa is wasting the defensive player’s career.
“He can’t make every throw. He’s only going to take us so far. I’m wasting my career here if that’s what we’re doing!”
Anonymous Miami Dolphins player on team sticking by QB Tua Tagovailoa, via Omar Kelly
Frustration from Dolphins’ defenders over the offense isn’t surprising. Miami played well defensively in 2021, allowing just 337.5 total yards and 21.9 points per game. Thanks to the defensive improvement, the Dolphins went from 1-7 to 9-8 and just missed out on the playoffs.
Tagovailoa did play fairly well during that stretch. In his final eight starts, Tagovailoa completed 69% of his passes and posted a 92.9 QB rating with 1,613 passing yards. But in big moments, especially when playing in bad weather conditions, Miami’s quarterback struggled.
A lack of arm strength and velocity proved to be Tagovailoa’s biggest issue. He ranked 35th amongst qualified quarterbacks in deep-throw rate (7.5%) and finished 25th in QB rating (77.2) when throwing 20-plus yards downfield, per Pro Football Focus.
4 best Amari Cooper trade destinations
But Miami’s decision is made. Tua Tagovailoa will be the Dolphins’ quarterback in 2022 and the franchise is determined to put more talent around him on offense this spring. If he struggles again, Miami will be in front of the 2023 quarterback market.