Tua Tagovailoa has spent much of this offseason getting thrown on his butt, he’s sporting some new facial hair, and he recently said he’d considered retiring from football.
In short, things are …
“Great,” said the Miami Dolphins quarterback when meeting with reporters last week, with the kind of smile you can’t help but believe.
Tagovailoa is coming off a 2022 campaign in which he led the team to an 8-3 start that sparked such promise, but ended it on the sidelines, not returning for the final two games of the regular season or a playoff defeat to Buffalo after sustaining a concussion Christmas Day.
Having attacked the offseason with a dedicated plan, he is feeling upbeat, giving off an unmistakably more relaxed air that suggests he’s comfortable with where his game and his mindset land as the summer months approach.
Speaking of landing, the 25-year-old has — as most will have heard by now — taken up the martial art of jiu jitsu, a preventative measure aimed at teaching him how to fall more effectively. This follows a pair of 2022 concussions resulting from his head colliding into the ground.
Those incidents caused him to temporarily wonder whether his future lay away from the sport, before quickly deciding that was not an option he wanted to pursue.
“I considered it for a time, having sat down with my family, with my wife and having those kinds of conversations,” he said. “Really, it would be hard for me to walk away from this game with how old I am, with my son. I always dreamed of playing as long as I could so my son could watch and know this is what I do.”
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Making that admission was something Tagovailoa got some unwarranted criticism for, but in reality, talking about it is just in keeping with where he is at. It wasn’t a concession of weakness, more a statement of clarity — one that shows he feels he’s in the right place and with the right tools to shine.
Pressure is always there for NFL QBs, but the way he performed last season silenced a lot of skeptics. Already the Dolphins have picked up his fifth-year option for 2024, one that will pay him $23.2 million that year. Believing that the streaking start to last season is a better predictor of the future than the frustrating end to it (losing six of seven), Miami has made it clear Tagovailoa is the guy despite adding backup Mike White as a free agent.
Tagovailoa’s preparation is more forensic now, and it centers around accountability. Small areas of weakness aren’t to be ignored and avoided; they’re to be addressed and improved upon to a point where they are good enough to give confidence.
That’s why watching game footage from last season with his jiu jitsu coach has been part of the prep, and it’s why an elaborate system of pulleys has been set up to enable him to strengthen his neck.
Miami coach Mike McDaniel wants Tagovailoa to make plays and showcase his talent, but also to appreciate the process that goes into it all as the QB enters his fourth year in the league.
As for the mustache, it was an offseason dalliance he’s ready to be done with, but his wife likes it, which probably means we will see it stick around for a while, and if nothing else, it is a sign that there’s a different edge to Tagovailoa, a kind of relaxed focus that hints at a greater comfort level.
The Dolphins hope that’s the case.
Going from 8-3 to 8-8 wasn’t anyone’s idea of fun, but Tagovailoa’s end-of-season stats made for pleasant reading, with 25 touchdowns against eight interceptions, and 3,548 passing yards.
By the time the playoffs rolled around, the Dolphins had already skidded, and it never felt like they had a chance of going into Buffalo and beating the Bills with seventh-round rookie Skylar Thompson under center.
Tagovailoa is aware that he must find ways to stay off the injury list, having played 13 games or fewer in each of his three seasons.
“I want to get better at everything I can do to help the team win games,” he added. “And I know the biggest one is my health, staying out on the field.”
That’s why the past months have revolved around strength work, leg work, neck and core work. Plus, of course, getting slammed into the jiu jitsu mats, because that’s how it goes when you’re still a white belt trying to earn respect.
He’s graduated to a level well beyond that on the quarterbacking hierarchy list, but believes there is more to come.
It is an unpredictable league and the best laid plans can go awry, but the most important part of Tagovailoa’s continued climb is in place — he believes he can.
