Something’s different about Tua Tagovailoa, and the Dolphins are loving it Tua Tagovailoa, much like the Miami Dolphins as a whole, continues to search for his own identity. This year, he might actually find it. In the history of the Dolphins, no player has split the fan base as much as Tagovailoa. Five years into his NFL career, the same fans who supported him do so today, while the other half haven't changed their opinions either. Making it worse, there is no middle ground, at least not without taking jabs from both sides of the fence. Tagovailoa's injury history is noteworthy, and that is something he must protect himself from, but his leadership has also been a question. Tagovailoa hasn't held his team to the standards elite quarterbacks do. A leader, yes, but not a guy who is going to command the respect, demand the respect, and show his team that he is someone worth playing for and around. Now, that might be starting to change. Miami Dolphins may be getting a new version of Tua Tagovailoa The Dolphins have been conducting OTAs this month, and next week starts a mini-camp. So far, Tagovailoa has reportedly looked sharp during the sessions, but these sessions are not always open to the outside media. Luckily, the players are speaking up. Austin Jackson - "[Tagovailoa's] definitely a lot more confident and decisive on and off the field. He knows what people are supposed to be doing in terms of training. He knows what we’re doing on the field. He knows how to take care of his body. He knows how to unite guys, bring us together for team camaraderie and stuff, just to get together. He’s a full-blown leader, and I think he’s showing that he wants to take control of this team, and he is.” Jaylen Waddle - "[Tagovailoa] looks confident, coming out with a different swag. He’s got dye in his hair and some other stuff. He looks like he’s just eager to play man.” Waddle himself is finding this offseason to be much more rewarding as well; he, too, has been turning heads. Mike McDaniel - "[Tagovailoa] had most ownership of all the players on each and every down, particularly in non-passing downs. There were double motions where he was aligning people appropriately. He really had command and resolve within the practice of things – sometimes football for a quarterback can be uniquely challenging, because you have the ownership of the operation of the whole unit." Last year may have been the wake-up call for the Dolphins' franchise quarterback. He missed four games with another concussion and sat on the sidelines watching the team he was supposed to be leading win and lose. Perhaps Tagovailoa got more complacent about his injury history, given he wasn't hurt the year before. When he did return, he wasn't the player we saw in 2024, and there was regression; then his late-season hip injury was yet another reminder of how fragile the sport can make an athlete. Again, watching from the sidelines, Tagovailoa could only watch the team miss the playoffs. If Miami is going to win in 2025, Tagovailoa has to remain healthy, but more importantly, he needs to become a leader the other players want to die for. Those are the QBs that find ways to win because the players rally around them late in close games. If Tagovialoa is making those moves, becoming more vocal, and holding his teammates (and himself) accountable for mistakes, it's a good step in the right direction.
Other than his choice to be too reckless when he runs with the ball instead of throwing it away, there has been nothing about Tua's personality I've ever seen as a negative since he's been with the team. BTW, Dolphins fans have repeatedly held Chad Pennington as a gold standard of leadership based on his one year in Miami in 2008. Do you know how many games he'd started in the NFL when he was the same age as Tua? 12! Compared to Tua's 62. Pennington only started a total of 61 games in nine years in New Jersey before coming to Miami when he was 32 years old.
Yeah, actually, that's one part of his personality that I do think needs to change. When you're getting dominated, you shouldn't be joking and laughing it up on the sidelines.
I agree but at the same time Hill and Waddle didn't seem to give a sh!t either. We need some players with a nasty mean streak to stop that kind of behavior.
I disagree. That's one way to do it, but hardly the only way. There have been plenty of successful teams over the years led by players who are just good dudes.
I think you need a mix of both. Our roster is full of "good dudes" and nobody who will get in another player's a$$ on the sidelines.
The few poison apples make the entire thing worse. Ramsey, Tyreek, Holland. Getting rid of them will improve things.
