Tua Tagovailoa is facing a comeback season in 2023.
The third-year quarterback led the league in touchdown rate (6.3 percent), yards per pass attempt (8.9) and passer rating (105.5) last fall, but his season was defined by multiple head injuries that left his NFL career in question. He was limited to 13 games and missed the chance to make his playoff debut — a 31-34 Miami Dolphins Wild Card loss behind backup Skylar Thompson and his 44.7 rating.
Tagovailoa is taking preventative measures to ensure that won’t happen again — both for the sake of his health and the opportunity to push Miami to its first playoff win since 2001. He’s taking classes in the gentle art: jiu-jitsu.
Tua says he’s still a white belt in his jiu-jitsu journey — said he’s learned how to fall.
“You think it’s easy, just fall down and don’t hit your head. But it’s a lot more to it than that.” pic.twitter.com/bTnmC5gy2w
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) April 19, 2023
“Learned how to fall,” Tagovailoa told reporters at Wednesday’s press conference. “Learned some grappling techniques. Learned some other things too I don’t think I should disclose, but for the most part learned how to fall. You know, you think it’s easy, just don’t fall and hit your head. There’s a lot more to it.”
What the mystery teachings he’s not disclosing are isn’t clear, but it’s probably not anything too deep in the jiu-jitsu playbook like flying armbars or gogoplatas. Tagovailoa is still fresh in his journey through the martial art; as a white belt he’s stuck on the lowest rank in the pecking order.
Enough rolling will also help boost his cardio and flexibility while learning new and exciting ways to twist dudes into pretzels. But the true benefit will be better ways to brace himself as pass rushers fly through his pocket and hurl him toward the turf. If jiu-jitsu helps Tagovailoa avoid the head injuries that ended his 2022, his rise through the belts could be the start of a larger trend for NFL quarterbacks.
