Miami Dolphins: Tua Tagovailoa Must Take a Leap in 2022

The former Alabama signal-caller has been subject to much ridicule this offseason. Is this the year that Tua Tagovailoa silences the doubters? Or will he prove them right?

Tua Tagovailoa gained fame as a five-star recruit from the beautiful island of Hawaii. He is from a proud Samoan family that prides themselves on hard work and integrity. Tagovailoa displayed both traits consistently during his time in high school, which led to Nick Saban offering him a full ride scholarship to play quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Florida and Texas A&M from the SEC and basically the entire PAC-12 all were hot on the trail for Tua, but he ultimately chose The Tide.

Whenever Tagovailoa arrived on campus, the team already had a proven starter behind center. Jalen Hurts, fresh off an SEC Championship and Peach Bowl victory, played very well as a freshman. This did not deter Tagovailoa, rather, it helped push him to work even harder. Hurts held on to the position throughout the season, leading Alabama to the College Football Playoffs for a second season in a row.

After beating Clemson in the first round, they faced off against SEC rival, Georgia, for the National Championship. Hurts played well against Clemson, but when the Georgia game began, the Bulldogs surged to a 13-0 halftime lead. Coach Saban made the tough call to bench their leader and insert the true freshman, Tua Tagovailoa, into one of the biggest games in school history.

That may sound like a tall task for such an inexperienced player, but you’d have never guessed that Tagovailoa was so young. He immediately made an impact upon entering, throwing a six-yard touchdown to wide receiver Henry Ruggs. With 3:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, Tagovailoa connected with Calvin Ridley for a game-tying score, deadlocking both teams at 20 points and forcing an overtime to decide the national champion.

Georgia received the ball first, and Alabama was able to hold them to a field goal. After an improbable second half comeback, Tua Tagovailoa took the field with a chance to become an Alabama legend. After taking a terrible sack on the first play, things were looking shaky. However, on the second offensive snap of the overtime for Alabama, Tagovailoa linked up with future Heisman trophy winner, Devonta Smith, for a walk-off, game-winning 41-yard touchdown.

As a sophomore, Tagovailoa beat out Hurts to maintain the starting gig for the entire season. He battled a slew of lower body injuries throughout, but went on to throw for nearly 4000 yards, with a TD:INT ratio of 43:6. Alabama went undefeated in the regular season, but it took help from an old friend to finish off the SEC Championship game versus Georgia. After Tagovailoa bailed out Hurts 12 months prior, this time Hurts returned the favor.

With under six minutes remaining in the fourth, Alabama found themselves down 28-21. Hurts entered following an ankle sprain to Tagovailoa. He threw a 10-yard touchdown to Jerry Jeudy, tying the game. The score was knotted at 28 all with 1:05 left on the clock when Jalen Hurts scampered for a game-winning 15-yard touchdown, breaking the hearts of the Georgia faithful for a second year in a row.

Tagovailoa took back over for the playoff game against the Oklahoma Sooners, leading the team to a convincing 45-34 victory against the BIG-12 Champs. The Tide ended up seeing the Clemson Tigers in another National Championship game, and similar to their meeting in the 2016 season, Alabama would go home without the trophy.

Tagovailoa more than made a name for himself, regularly seeing his name as the QB1 on most draft boards heading into his junior season. The team and their star quarterback were cruising for the first six weeks, but a week seven game against the Tennessee Volunteers changed the trajectory of the entire season. Alabama finished out the victory against Tennessee, and dispatched of Arkansas the following week. Luckily, the bye week fell perfectly, giving Tua a little more time to heal before playing against Joe Burrow and the LSU Tigers.

Tagovailoa moved around with a noticeable limp, and anyone watching could tell he was far from 100%. Still, he managed to keep the team within striking distance, but couldn’t quite muster up enough to end the LSU hot streak. The five-point win was the 2nd lowest margin of victory for the Tigers in 2019. Tagovailoa took the field against Mississippi State the following week and that would be the final start of his collegiate career. Tua suffered a dislocated hip, furthering the injury concerns for NFL Draft evaluators everywhere.

Miami Dolphins: Tua Tagovailoa Will Take the Leap to Become a Steady Starter in 2022

Still, Tagovailoa opted to forego his senior season and entered the 2020 NFL Draft. He was unable to workout during the Combine and Pro-Day portions of the off season, although he did put together a highlight reel of sorts for teams. With the body of work he put together, plenty of people were willing to bet on the talent to overcome any injury issues. The Miami Dolphins took the lefty at No. 5 overall.

His career in Miami began with a constant flow of questions regarding his health, and hip specifically. The injury he suffered was the same one that famously ended Bo Jackson’s career. They play very different positions, but the concern was still there in terms of whether or not he’d ever fully regain 100% health. As a rookie, he began the season as Ryan Fitzpatrick’s backup, before alternating back and forth with the veteran for the remainder of the season due to on-and-off injuries.

Entering his second season as a professional, Tagovailoa was determined to silence all the critics. Unfortunately, the 2021 season was more of the same on the injury front. After winning his first start of the season against the Patriots, Tagovailoa suffered a rib injury in week two that forced him to leave the game early and caused him a stint on the Injured Reserve. Tua returned in week six and played well, but the team lost three games in a row, dropping their record to 1-7 on the season.

Tagovailoa missed the teams’ week nine victory against the Houston Texans, but returned in relief duty the following week, helping elevate the team to 3-7 with a win against the Baltimore Ravens. The final seven games saw the team gain six wins, with Tagovailoa’s steady play helping guide the offense. He completed 70% of his passes in this stretch and showed Dolphins fans a glimmer of what could be.

The off season began with a puzzling move by Miami. Following a 9-8 record, the franchise fired head coach Brian Flores. Immediately, the NFL world was sent into a tizzy. Why would they fire a guy who built the entire foundation for the current roster? Allegedly, owner Stephen Ross and Coach Flores simply did not see eye-to-eye philosophically. Flores even went as far as to say that Ross offered him money to tank games in order to secure a better draft pick.

I’ll let you do your own digging and decide what’s true, but either way, the team found themselves without a head coach. This is where Mike McDaniel came into the fold. A former Kyle Shanahan protege, McDaniel served as the right hand to Shanny in multiple different stops over the past decade. As you might imagine, McDaniel is a brilliant offensive mind. It is expected that he will attempt to incorporate the same offensive scheme that San Francisco runs.

Before we dive into what that means for the roster, let’s take a look at the players that McDaniel has at his disposal. He inherited wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, pass rusher Jaelan Phillips, cornerbacks Xavien Howard and Byron Jones, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa from the previous season. A peek at their free agency signings hammers home the fact that they’re replicating the Shanahan offense.

The franchise tried for years to address the left tackle position through the draft, but they finally abandoned that idea and threw a monster contract at offensive tackle Terron Armstead. Armstead spent the first nine years of his career with the New Orleans Saints, but with their cap situation, they were unable to pay Armstead what he deserved. Instead, he signed with the Dolphins and will serve as the “Trent Williams” of the offense.

The next major move was the addition of three-time All-Pro wide receiver, Tyreek Hill. “Reek” made himself a household name during his time in Kansas City, as he and Patrick Mahomes formed the most lethal QB-WR duo in the league for multiple seasons. Alas, all good things must come to an end. Rather than paying Hill, the Chiefs flipped him to Miami for a handful of draft picks. The Dolphins quickly locked Hill into an extension, providing the rare win-win-win outcome for both franchises and the player.

The next few moves may seem inconsequential, but knowing what we know about McDaniel’s offensive identity, they’re actually big moves. The team signed a trio of solid running backs with Chase Edmonds coming over from Arizona, Sony Michel from the Rams, and even a former 49er — Raheem Mostert switched coasts. Add in Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed and the competition is great in the running back room. Expect to see a steady rotation.

Because of the Hill trade, the Dolphins had little to work with in the draft. But given the addition of a top-ten left tackle and arguably the best wide receiver in the league, that alone is a massive upgrade. Now, factor in that McDaniel is an offensive specialist and the reason for optimism on that side of the ball are well warranted. So, what can Tagovailoa do to make the most of it?

First and foremost, he must remain healthy. Each of the past four seasons playing football, Tagovailoa has dealt with some form of injury. One of those injuries was the aforementioned “Bo Jackson Injury”, which is always a thought in the back of the mind when he takes a big hit. Now that they have Armstead entrenched at the left tackle, there’s reason to believe that the unit as a whole will take a major leap in terms of security. An untouched quarterback is a happy quarterback.

The next thing he must do, is fully buy into the new offensive scheme. McDaniel wants to win the line of scrimmage every possession, so expect a lot of handing the ball off for Tua. He will ask the offensive linemen to get out in space and create openings at the second level for his stable of running backs. The threat of a consistent run game makes a quarterback’s life exponentially easier.

Continuing on the point, McDaniel won’t ask Tagovailoa to do too much as a passer. With his stellar completion percentage from 2021 (67.8%), all he will have to do is hit Jaylen Waddle or Tyreek Hill on short routes and allow them to do most of the work after the catch. Both guys are among the fastest in the entire league and have proven to be incredibly shifty with the ball in their hands. Mike Gesicki is the perfect glue guy in the middle. He will be the chain mover of the offense over the middle of the field, as he takes advantage of all the attention that the receivers will garner.

If Tua Tagovailoa can provide play similar to what Jimmy Garoppolo did for the Niners, there’s a path to the Dolphins winning 10+ games. Their roster is as well-rounded as any. After a nine-win campaign in 2021, the team improved tenfold. The offensive line, wide receiver room, and defense are all better now. The play-calling should be much better as well with McDaniel at the helm. At the end of the day, they will go as far as Tagovailoa can take them. He won’t have to carry them to wins, but he must remain healthy and manage the game properly to live up to their potential as a team. It’s now or never for Tua.