While the 2022 season had plenty of peaks for Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, there were also some valleys that left a sour taste in the mouths of many.
He started 13 games, setting career-highs in yards (3,548) and touchdowns (25) while leading the league in passer rating (105.5). However, he also spent multiple stints in the league’s concussion protocol, costing him an opportunity to start in his first postseason contest.
Instead, he had to watch Teddy Bridgewater and rookie Skylar Thompson lead his team to an eventual loss to the Buffalo Bills during Wild Card Weekend.
Tagovailoa’s health has been a topic of discussion over the last year, and just about everyone has voiced their opinion on the matter.
This weekend, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero spoke to Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel about his quarterback’s progress since he last played on Christmas Day.
“He’s doing great,” McDaniel said. “He’s had a really good offseason with his family and training and positioning himself to feel good moving forward. He’s very healthy, vibrant, and I can see a hunger in him that I’m excited to watch play out.”
Since the day McDaniel signed on as Miami’s coach, he’s been nothing but supportive of his quarterback, and that doesn’t appear to be stopping now.
“He’s a younger player and he’s very honest and candid,” the coach said. “But it also gives me a barometer. He was doing a lot, he’s got a lot of room to grow, let’s just say that. He did an unbelievable job being able to lead an offense in year one. That’s a new language. This is his first year where he’s going to have continued offense, play caller and position coach.”
Since entering the league in 2020, Tagovailoa did have a different offensive coordinator/play-caller every year. The first year it was Chan Gailey. In the next, it was the multi-headed monstrosity that included George Godsey and Eric Studesville as co-offensive coordinators and quarterbacks coach Charlie Frye with input as well.
That wasn’t something that happened just in the pros either. During Tagovailoa’s time at Alabama, had three different offensive coordinators in three years – Brian Daboll (2017), Mike Locksley (2018) and Steve Sarkisian (2019).
Having the opportunity to continue to learn and expand upon one system should be beneficial for Tagovailoa. If he can grow from where he was during his peaks last season, Miami may just have their quarterback of the future. However, there’s a long way to go before that answer is revealed.
