Imagine you’re Tua Tagovailoa.
Growing up in a demanding household in Hawai‘i, with everything centered on your football dreams. At Alabama, many of those dreams and aspirations were fulfilled, but your future was also thrown into flux with two high-ankle sprains that led to tightrope surgeries, a broken hand and, most devastatingly, a dislocated hip that ended your college career.
And while that didn’t stop the Dolphins from taking you as the fifth pick in the 2020 NFL draft, for whatever the reason, be it the injuries or your size or your athletic limitations, your coach and your team’s owner your first two years never fully buy into you. You’re yo-yo’ed in and out of the lineup as a rookie. You break your ribs, then your finger, and miss time in your second year. Your team makes a run at trading for Deshaun Watson in the interim, then pursues Tom Brady after the season.
