Latest news with #Tagovailoa
Miami Herald
26 minutes ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill's still working on relationship after wideout's ‘I'm out' comment
The vast majority of the NFL world saw Tyreek Hill's infamous tirade at the end of the 2024 season. It produced a myriad of reactions — most of which tended to scold Hill — from pundits and fans alike. What was more so unclear, however, was how the star receiver's purported trade request affected the team as a whole. And while Hill has since recanted his statement — in addition to even publicly apologizing to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — it appears that the duo's relationship still needs work. 'We're still continuing' to rebuild it, Tagovailoa said Wednesday morning. 'But it's not just with me — it's with a lot of the guys. I'm not the only one who heard that. You guys aren't the only people that heard that.' Added Tagovailoa: 'When you say something like that, you don't just come back from that with 'Hey my bad.' You got to work that relationship up. You got to build everything up again. It's still a work in process.' Following a disappointing 32-20 less to the New York Jets in the Dolphins' 2024 season finale, Hill didn't hold back his feelings. 'There are a lot of things I need to reassess about my career,' Hill said Jan. 5. 'Just see what I need to do to continue to get better as a player so I can continue to reach that 1,000-yard mark. It [stinks] missing QB 1 [Tagovailoa].... I've got to do what's best for me and my family, whether that's here or wherever the case may be. I'm opening the door. I'm out, bro. 'It was great playing here, but at the end of the day, I've got to do what's best for my career. I'm too much of a competitor to be just out there.' Granted, Hill played a full 17-game season with a fractured wrist and had just missed the playoffs for the first time in his career. Tagovailoa, conversely, had missed a total of six games, four due to a concussion and a final two with a hip injury. It was also arguably the worst season of Hill's career since his rookie year in 2016. Hill was admittedly frustrated to say the least. 'It was tough,' Hill said of the incident in late May, adding that he's gone to therapy to help gain a better control of his mental health. 'Obviously, emotions were high then, but at the end of the day I'm just looking to move forward from that.' The eight-time Pro Bowler further explained himself during the first day of training camp. 'I know how to lose but in those moments, I need to be better as a leader and I realized that throughout this whole entire offseason,' Hill said Tuesday, praising the fans and Miami community as a whole for embracing him. 'I feel like I really haven't been giving the best version of Tyreek my whole entire career.' The offseason seemingly gave Hill a bit of perspective. Not only did the nine-year veteran go on an apology tour during Super Bowl week, he made a point to go above and beyond in his training . Hill also had surgery in an effort to be ready in time for training camp. 'As a leader of this team and also a leader of this community, I just need to be better in that sense and just know that there's a ton of little kids who look up to me as a player and as a role model,' Hill said Tuesday, adding that he 'matured a lot.' 'I just got to remind myself of that.' Even Tagovailoa has noticed the changes, praising his star wideout for the introspection. 'He's working on himself,' Tagovailoa said, explaining that he has shown 'a lot more vulnerability,' something that the franchise quarterback believed to be 'the first step to him building true relationships.' 'He's working on the things that he says he wants to get better with and be better on. So that's the first step to me and so I commend him for doing that.'
USA Today
14-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa receiving votes from NFL execs as top-10 QB
As 2025 NFL training camps approach, ESPN polled league executives, coaches and scouts to rank the NFL's top 10 quarterbacks. Though he finds himself outside the top 10 and honorable mention section, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was among those receiving votes. Tagovailoa joins a group of NFL signal-callers that includes Kyler Murray, Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Aaron Rodgers and Bo Nix in the receiving votes category. Both Houston's C.J. Stroud and Green Bay's Jordan Love earned honorable mention status. While some may jeer at Tagovailoa's inclusion among the receiving votes category, it's an indication of the respect that Tagovailoa does garner from opposing front offices across the NFL. Tagovailoa was an honorable mention choice on this list a year ago headed into the 2024 season. As has been written or spoken about so often with Tagovailoa, injuries continue to hold the 27-year-old back. Tagovailoa has played in and started every game of an NFL season just once during his five-year professional career thus far. That came during the 2023 campaign. The 2023 season is also the only season in which Tagovailoa has played in more than 13 games. On the bright side, Tagovailoa led the league in passing in 2023 and notched his lone Pro Bowl nod thus far. Tagovailoa passed for 4,624 yards and 29 touchdowns during the 2023 campaign. In 11 games in 2024, Tagovailoa threw for 2,867 yards and 19 touchdowns against seven interceptions. The Dolphins were 6-5 in games that Tagovailoa started last season and are 38-24 with Tagovailoa across his 62 NFL starts to date. Per the input from league execs, coaches and scouts, the NFL's top five quarterbacks are Patrick Mahomes at No. 1, Josh Allen at No. 2, Joe Burrow at No. 3, Lamar Jackson at No. 4 and Jayden Daniels at No. 5. Matthew Stafford (No. 6), Justin Herbert (No. 7), Jared Goff (No. 8), Jalen Hurts (No. 9) and Baker Mayfield (No. 10) round out the top 10 quarterbacks.
Miami Herald
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Kelly: Stop all the doom and gloom about the 2025 Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins had a disastrous 2024 season, one where nearly everything that could go wrong did. The Pro Bowl tailback (Raheem Mostert) and fullback (Alec Ingold) both sustained injuries that hindered their contribution levels. The starting quarterback (Tua Tagovailoa) began the season shelved by a concussion, and then ended it sidelined by a hip injury. The No. 2 quarterback (Skylar Thompson, who beat out Mike White for the job) breaks his ribs in his first start replacing Tagovailoa, and his backup (Tyler 'Snoop' Huntley) had only been with the team a week prior to being elevated into a starting role, which forced the coaching staff to eventually simplify the offense to make it less putrid. The top two pass rushers — Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips — were sidelined by a pair of knee injuries, and the top defensive lineman (Zach Sieler) is shelved a couple weeks after being poked in the eye during practice. I have left plenty of important things out like losing Austin Jackson to a knee injury at midseason, which extinguished the run game, or having both Tyreek Hill (wrists) and Jaylen Waddle (knee) play through troublesome medical issues. But you get the point. The Dolphins had nonstop drama (some call them excuses) last year. Still, the 2024 Dolphins were a win against the New York Jets in the season finale, and a Denver Broncos loss away from advancing to the postseason in the final week of the season, and finished last year 8-9. Say whatever you want about last year's team, but they didn't quit on themselves, and their coaches, rallying back from a 2-6 start to finish 6-3. When others would have thrown in the towel, Mike McDaniel's third rendition of a Dolphins team kept fighting. That type of resiliency is an admirable trait that McDaniel needs to find a way to carry over to the 2025 Dolphins, which are younger, less experienced, and has a leadership void to fill. Even though Mostert, Jalen Ramsey, Jonnu Smith, Calais Campbell, Terron Armstead, five former Pro Bowl talents, are gone, along with Jevon Holland, Durham Smythe, Robert Jones, Anthony Walker, Kendall Fuller and others, it's difficult for me to conclude that Miami doesn't have the talent, or resiliency to exceed what was achieved last season. For starters, a season with a healthy Tagovailoa has a ton of hope in it considering he's one of the NFL's most efficient quarterbacks (he's the only QB in the NFL to produce three consecutive 100 passer-rated seasons the past three years), and has never produced a losing record as a starter (38-24 as an NFL starter, which means he wins 63 percent of the games he's started). And this year Tagovailoa's entering his third season in the same offense, which is unprecedented territory for the 2023 Pro Bowler, who has been in the MVP conversation heading into the final month of the season twice in his young career. What Tagovailoa needs outside of his health is more help. Miami wisely rebuilt the interior of the offensive line this offseason, and if youngsters such as Patrick Paul and Jonah Savaiinaea are capable, and James Daniels, and Jackson get healthy and become the NFL players they once were, the offensive line should improve. That unit's struggles handcuffed the team more than anything outside of Tagovailoa's absence, and McDaniel admitted he was calling plays last season with the awareness that his team struggled to run the ball efficiently, or protect its quarterback in the moments that mattered most. Hopefully that changes, and can subsequently help the Dolphins offense get back to being dynamic, which is how most people who can honest would describe it as in 2022, when it ranked sixth, and 2023, when it ranked first in the NFL. Miami's pass rushing should improve if Phillips and Chubb can stay healthy, and pick up where they left off in 2023. If Chop Robinson continues to progress that trio of edge rushers could form a forceful defensive front with Zach Sieler and 2025 first-round pick Kenneth Grant. They will likely serve as the backbone for the Dolphins' defense, especially considering how inexperienced Miami's secondary seems to be entering training camp since general manager Chris Grier hasn't added a veteran cornerback yet. While losing Ramsey wasn't ideal, the Dolphins did re-acquire Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in the recent trade with Pittsburgh, and he should provide Miami's young secondary a stabilizing presence, which is needed while young cornerbacks begin to learn about the NFL game in their first stint real stint as starters and contributing players. It's fair to say Miami's inexperience at that position should create some concern about Anthony Weaver's defense. But the 2025 defense should has a couple more playmakers on it than year's unit did, and Weaver produced a top-10 unit in 2024. And let's not forget that Weaver entering his second season with Miami having a greater mastery of his personnel. That's is one of the many reasons the Dolphins have a chance to produce a winning record in 2025. A healthy Waddle and Hill provides another, and pair that with the continued growth and development of De'Von Achane, and the NFL return of Darren Waller, who was viewed as one of the NFL's elite tight ends before he surprisingly retired last season, and Miami has a chance to be dynamic if everyone can stay healthy. Nobody knows what to expect from Waller, but the same can, and should be said about this Dolphins team, which has labored all offseason to course correct the team's culture. If they can hold the locker room together, and don't get decimated by injuries, what they have given themselves is a chance. If McDaniel can hold it all together, and keep this team focused and driven, the Dolphins could exceed expectation, making some noise in the AFC.
Miami Herald
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
From 36 to 91: Tua Tagovailoa's Top 100 NFL ranking sparks debate
The Miami Dolphins' starting quarterback has taken a tumble down the NFL's annual Top 100 players list. Some are saying it isn't far enough. In 2024, Tua Tagovailoa earned the No. 36 spot on the NFL's Top 100 list, setting high expectations for a breakout season. But after missing 6.5 games due to concussions and a hip injury, he slid to No. 91 on this year's list, voted on annually by NFL players, as announced by the league over the weekend. Of the 15 spots on the list that have been revealed so far, Tagovailoa is the only quarterback to appear. 'Unless there are going to be 15 or 16 quarterbacks in the top 90, then this is too high,' TV personality for Fox Sports' First Things First Nick Wright said on Tagovailoa's ranking. Despite an injury-plagued year, Tagovailoa posted strong numbers for the Dolphins when active. In the 11 games he started, Tagovailoa completed 291 of 399 passes (72.9%) for 2,867 yards, with 19 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. His regular-season passer rating was an impressive 101.4, and he averaged approximately 260.6 yards per game. In games Tagovailoa missed, the Dolphins averaged just 13.3 points and went 2–4, compared to the stronger 6–5 mark and 24.1 points per game when he was under center. But critics argue that despite the numbers, Tagovailoa's production hasn't translated when it matters most. 'Tua has a losing record against teams that have a winning record. They come up short in the postseason because, guess what, all you play are teams that have good records,' Super Bowl champion and 11-year NFL pro Chris Canty said on ESPN's Unsportsmanlike show Wednesday morning. 'So I guess the question then becomes, well if he's not healthy, and he can't beat good teams, what is the long-term value of staying with this quarterback?' However, those who know him best say the obstacles have only made him stronger. Perhaps the fall to No. 91 will give the former University of Alabama star quarterback something to prove. 'For Tua, I think there were a lot of lessons learned, last year in particular, on and off the field — when he was playing, when he wasn't— [on] how to do his job,' head coach Mike McDaniel said earlier this summer at Dolphins OTA practices. Or perhaps the No. 91 spot is really just another offseason talking point — a conversation-starter with little merit or translation to on-field performance. Many around the league have even called the list a 'joke' or 'content filler,' questioning its overall value. After all, players already have enough to focus on studying their own film and that of their opponents. Making a holistic evaluation of every player across all 32 rosters isn't exactly in the job description. Tagovailoa's path back up the rankings will likely depend on two things: health and signature wins. He has yet to complete a full season without missing time and remains winless in the postseason with the Dolphins. If he can stay on the field and lead Miami to victories over top-tier opponents in the playoffs, he won't just silence critics—he'll force his way back into the league's top tier.
USA Today
09-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN ranks Dolphins' WR, TE, RB groups vs rest of NFL
The Miami Dolphins' 2025 NFL season is now less than two months away. Dolphins training camp will get underway from Miami Gardens at the end of this month on July 26, or two weeks from this coming Saturday. As a new season beckons, it springs newfound hope that Miami can rebound from a disappointing 8-9 finish in 2024. One reason for optimism are the talented pieces that surround franchise quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Though the Dolphins saw a dip in their overall ranking across the league, Miami's group of wide receivers, tight ends and running backs is still ranked among ESPN's top 10 NFL teams. According to ESPN, the Dolphins check in right at No. 10 in the NFL in terms of its wide receivers, tight ends and running backs. Tyreek Hill, coming off one of the best wide receiver seasons ever, saw his cumulative receiving yardage total fall from 1,799 to 959. While he was bothered by a wrist injury, the devastatingly explosive wideout didn't have a single reception of more than 30 yards after a touchdown in the opening-week win over the Jags. It seems foolish to write him off after so many years with significant production, but perhaps the 31-year-old is finally slowing down... This is a wildly exciting group of playmakers when Tagovailoa is healthy and coach Mike McDaniel is in his bag, but last season showed how underwhelming these players can be when the conditions aren't right. - Bill Barnwell, ESPN Any conversation about the Dolphins' offensive production has to take into account that Tagovailoa missed six games last season due to injury. Hill should still have plenty of gas left in the tank and he has seem refocused throughout the offseason as one of the team's foundational leaders. Jaylen Waddle has a trio of 1,000-yard receiving seasons under his belt and should be eager to rebound from what was his worst statistical NFL season in 2024. Barnwell weighted wide receivers' impact more heavily than either tight ends or running backs. Given how that's part of the metrics used to put these rankings together, it's no surprise to see the Dolphins toward the top of the league. Miami still boasts arguably the NFL's best one-two wide receiver punch. The Dolphins replaced a Pro Bowl tight end in Jonnu Smith with a former Pro Bowl tight end in Darren Waller. After tallying 12 total touchdowns and 1,499 yards of total offense a season ago, running back De'Von Achane appears to be one of the rising running back talents in the league. Though the Dolphins slid from No. 3 a season ago to No. 10 in these rankings entering 2025, a healthy Tagovailoa with these weapons could spike Miami right back up the ladder in a hurry.
