Latest news with #TuaTagovailoa
Reuters
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Dolphins rave about pick No. 231, QB Quinn Ewers
July 30 - Tua Tagovailoa tossed touchdown passes of 30 and 60 yards on Tuesday but the training camp performance of a position group peer is grabbing the quarterback's attention. Rookie Quinn Ewers, the 231st overall pick in the 2025 draft and a three-year starter at Texas, is putting on a show of his own in a competition with former top-5 pick Zach Wilson. "Quinn Ewers is doing great," Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said. "He has a personality that players gravitate to." The competition is likely to play out in preseason games in August. Tagovailoa said he's not above playing in the exhibitions, but given his injury history, the Dolphins have little to gain exposing him to meaningless hits before September. Placing Ewers and Wilson, who was drafted by the Jets and spent last season with the Denver Broncos, in game-like situations will probably take precedent for Miami. Because Tagovailoa missed six games last season and the Dolphins were entirely dormant offensively without him, there's added focus on finding a productive passer behind him. In five NFL seasons, Tagovailoa has played in 64 total games. "I think Quinn Ewers has been balling," Tagovailoa said. In one red-zone drill on Monday, Tagovailoa was one of the most vocal cheerleaders as Ewers threw three touchdown passes and set social media ablaze with his accuracy. "I think, realistically, Quinn's development is all him," McDaniel said. "But it's as much as coaching and from the quarterback coaches and Zach and Tua as well. They're creating a good environment that he has to keep up with because the other two are rolling." Ewers threw for 9,128 yards and 68 touchdowns at Texas. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Miami Dolphins training camp Day 5: Tua Tagoviloa takes center stage
MIAMI GARDENS -- The Miami Dolphins were back at it, with fans in attendance, after taking a day off Sunday. Here are the highlights: Ugh Team drills began with a pre-snap penalty. But De'Von Achane followed with two nice inside runs that would have gained good yardage. The interior OL got the job done. Tua Tagovailoa nearly followed by threading a ball to Tyreek Hill, who made a nice sideline grab eliciting cheers, but Hill was ruled to have not come down in bounds. Alexander Mattison, stonewalled off left tackle, cut right for a nice gain. More plays that stood out Tagovailoa hit Hill in stride over Isiah Jonson. ... Grayton Murphy and Matt Dickerson shared a sack against Zach Wilson in red-zone drills. ... LB Jordyn Brooks nailed Jaylen Wright for a loss. ... Tagovailoa hit Hill with a short touchdown pass in goal-line drills. OL Jackson Carman was guilty of a false start. ... Addison West and Quinn Ewers had a fumbled exchange. ... Ewers then atoned by throwing a short TD pass to a leaping AJ Henning. ... Jason Sanders, who is unopposed in camp, made a 50-yard field goal and was consistent from 40-49 yards. Tagovailoa found Waddle with plenty of space for a good connection over Jason Marshall. ... Jaelan Phillips blew up a run by Achane. ... Chop Robinson sacked Tagovailoa. ... Willie Gay dropped a gift INT thrown by Wilson. ... Wilson capitalized on the defense jumping to connect with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a medium-range gain. Wilson's pass bounced off the hands of Andrew Armstrong and was intercepted by Jordan Colbert. ... Theo Wease caught a couple of TD passes in a goal-line drill. The first was blown coverage. The second was a good throw by Ewers. ... Ewers then hit Armstrong with a TD to end practice. ... A brief skimish broke out involving first-round pick Kenneth Grant and OL Andrew Meyer. Extra work Among those fielding punts were receivers Hill and Waddle. Hill, for the first time, came out after most of the stretching portion of practice was winding down. That was what he did most of the time last season as well. It will be interesting to see what changes new special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman makes in the unit. There was a large contingent of players fielding punts, including Malik Washington, AJ Henning, Erik Ezukanma and Monaray Baldwin. Fant visits: Free-agent tight end Noah Fant, 27, is visiting the Dolphins. Fant had four seasons with 500 or more yards but has scored only one total touchdown over the past two seasons with Seattle. Missing: The secondary was without Kader Kohou, Storm Duck and BJ Adams for this workout. But the Dolphins have added Jack Jones and Mike Hilton. Looking ahead: Tuesday is the first day the Dolphins will be in pads. Elsewhere: Ex-Dolphins guard Rob Jones, now with Dallas, has a broken bone in his neck and will miss two to three months. Ever-popular orange jersey news: Tagovailoa had the honors this time. Musical selections were unlike any heard in camp to date. They included Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock & Roll." Estimation on percentage of players wondering what the heck as that song played: at least 90. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins training camp Day 5: Tua Tagoviloa takes center stage
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Miami Dolphins Fins Up/Fins Down: Tua Tagovailoa, Jaylen Waddle star, Day 7 training camp
MIAMI GARDENS — MIAMI GARDENS – The Miami Dolphins had their seventh training camp practice of the 2025 season on Wednesday, July 30 at Baptist Health Training Complex. The Dolphins passing game continues to be ahead of the pass defense. Among the absent Dolphins were Kader Kohou (knee/out for season); Ashtyn Davis (leg/not expected to miss season) and Tyreek Hill (personal reasons). Miami Dolphins training camp Day 7 stock up/stock down Stock Up LB — Willie Gay has been outstanding since his arrival. He is fast. He is aggressive. He is passionate. He brings great energy. Gay has been a good addition. QB Tua Tagovailoa — Tua Tagovailoa has seven practices with no interceptions. Tua has been sharp and accurate and consistent. This has to be his best season. WR Jaylen Waddle — Jaylen Waddle appears a step quicker and more consistent with his hands than he was last season. Waddle is clearly determined for a bounce back. Stock Down Dolphins CBs — Tua Tagovailoa made a very good point after practice, which is that it's hard to guage young cornerbacks when they're facing the likes of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in practice. But there is no doubt Miami's WRs have gotten the better of most matchups with corners so far. Bad, bad news: Miami Dolphins CB Kader Kohou out for season Dolphins 53-man roster projection: After one week of training camp Dolphins rookie QB Quinn Ewers: 'Doing great' in recent training camp practices Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@ and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins stock up/stock down training camp: Tua, Waddle, Willie Gay standout
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tua Tagovailoa praises Miami Dolphins rookie Quinn Ewers: 'balling.'
MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa did not hold back in his praise of third-string rookie Quinn Ewers. "I think Quinn's been balling," Tua said after Miami's seventh training camp practice. "I think he's been buying into what he's been told in the quarterback room." Ewers, a seventh rounder from Texas, has made a big jump in recent outings. "Feeling healthy helps," Ewers said of growing confidence. "And I feel like I'm playing faster each and every day. I feel like with what's installed right now, I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on that." Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel says Ewers has improved in the area of timing. The Miami offense is so predicated on timing and rhythm and trust. Tua Tagovailoa: Miami Dolphins rookie Quinn Ewers 'balling' Ewers says he's feeling more comfortable from the college-to-NFL transition. "I would just say the details and just the magnitude of the plays and how much every small detail matters," Ewers said. "Because obviously detail matters within Texas' playbook with Coach Sarkisian. But in the NFL I feel like it's just another level and just the multitude of different variations of plays that they have that match other plays. And it's, but at the end of the day, I love a challenge." Miami Dolphins rookie Quinn Ewers of Texas improving Ewers is the clear number three quarterback, behind veteran Zach Wilson. But it's certainly possible Ewers plays his way off a practice squad projection and onto the roster in the preseason. "That's where all the fun is, is finally getting out and getting to play other people rather than your own teammates," Ewers said. "And you get to see some different defenses and defensive schemes and defense players. Yeah, I feel good about it." Practice Views: Miami Dolphins Fins Up/Fins Down: Tua Tagovailoa, Jaylen Waddle star, Day 7 Bad injury news: Miami Dolphins CB Kader Kohou out for season Quinn Up: Dolphins rookie QB Quinn Ewers 'doing great' in recent practices Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@ and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins Quinn Ewers has 'been balling' says Tua Tagovailoa
New York Times
17 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Is Tyreek Hill a top fantasy football rebound candidate, or has age caught up with him?
Tyreek Hill was often taken second overall in 2024 fantasy drafts as the second wide receiver, and he had an ADP the final week of draft season just below CeeDee Lamb at No. 3 overall. Fast forward to 2025, and the 31-year-old is the 14th wideout off the board, generally, falling well into the third round. Advertisement And many think that's still too high. Is Hill's current ADP tethered more to his performance through 2023 or to his disappointing 2024? And was his 2024 season even that disappointing? Assessing Hill raises interesting questions about aging curves and allows us to test that supposition with relatively new data from NGS, the NFL's radar tracking system. We can now see whether Hill is slowing down and to what extent. Bottom line: When I look at everything, I'm far more bullish than the market on Hill in my rankings. He enters draft season as my WR10, and I would happily grab him in the third round. Let's look more closely at Hill's 2024. He had over 200 PPR points, the 31st-best PPR season for a 30-year-old wide receiver this century. With Tua Tagovailoa on the field, his 17-game averages were even better: 90-1,100-10, 260 PPR points. Those points would have been WR9, just below Lamb. Per game, however, that would have ranked 16th among WRs who played at least half the season. Either way, not a draft disaster. Tua was last in the league in yards per attempt last year, just a tick below Patrick Mahomes (Hill's former QB). And his unwillingness to throw downfield is a red flag against Hill, according to his 2025 detractors. But we're overstating the lack of downfield passing to Hill, presumably to protect Tua (concussions) from being hit. In 2024, Hill's rate of 20-plus-yard targets was 16% compared to 20% in 2023. That's a decline, but hardly a reason to drop Hill so far down the WR queue. He's also a year older. No one worried about age 30. But is age 31 appreciably worse? At some point, one year will be a tipping point. But what is the evidence of WR decline at age 31 vs. age 30? At the macro level, there is very little. This century, 38 WRs have had 200-plus fantasy points at age 30. At age 31, that drops to 32 (a 16% decline). But the NFL's injury data analyzer, IQVIA, found injury rates are pretty stable at age 31. Of course, this just accounts for missed time and not age-based performance declines. Advertisement Hill's wrist injury, which hampered him all season, is not expected to be an issue in 2025 after two surgeries involving pins in the joint. Hill now says season-ending surgery was recommended early in the 2024 campaign, but he chose to play through it. He also reportedly has dropped 14 pounds in an effort to maintain his elite speed and increase his endurance. So let's conclude there is no extra significant injury risk at age 31 vs. age 30. There remains a chance Hill could be among the 16% of productive 30-year-old wideouts that age out of elite performance at age 31. And you could argue, of course, that Hill already showed signs of slowing down at age 30 compared to age 29. But here is where we can use the NFL's radar technology to search for quantifiable evidence of that theory. Here are Hill's max radar times according to the NFL's radar tracking system for the past three seasons: That 21.50 mph speed at age 30 is the eighth fastest since 2022, according to TruMedia. The only offensive skill players of fantasy note on that age-30 list were Raheem Mostert (2022) and Derrick Henry (2024), who were 21.74 and 21.72 mph, respectively. (That Henry had a faster max speed than Hill last year is wild.) Mostert followed that up at age 31 with a nearly identical max speed of 21.62 mph en route to 1,012 rushing yards and 18 rushing TDs. Furthermore, in late June, Hill proved he's unquestionably one of the fastest humans by running the 100 meters in 10.1 seconds at the ATX Sprint Classic, finishing fourth out of seven track stars and just one-tenth of a second behind first place. Even if you still believe in Hill, there is the argument that Tua is just too big a question mark with his concussion history. If the quarterback is sidelined again, the current Dolphins backup is Zach Wilson. (I'm probably alone in thinking Wilson airing bombs to Hill could be fantasy fun.) Advertisement Other metrics beyond speed show a player's age decline. He broke just one tackle on 81 catches in 2024 after breaking 12 on 119 in 2023. That's concerning, no doubt. But it's a small sample, and how much did his serious wrist injury play a part in this? I'd argue it was a very significant contributor. And what if Tua plays 17 games again like he did in 2023, when he threw for 4,624 yards (a WR-leading 1,799 to Hill on 171 targets)? And what if Hill's wrist injury, along with the six-game absence of his QB, caused Hill's collapse and he remains as explosive as ever? Then couldn't Hill join the list of 300-point PPR wide receivers at age 31 this century — Brandon Marshall (339.2 in 2015), Muhsin Muhammad (329 in 2004), Rod Smith (318 in 2001) and Jordy Nelson (304.7 in 2016)? Of course, he could. None of those older fantasy football stars were even remotely on the same level at the position as Hill, a future inner-circle Hall of Famer and one of the top wideouts in NFL history. (Photo of Tyreek Hill: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
