Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will be playing on the first year of a four-year, $212.1 million extension in 2025, a contract that was met with skepticism around the league not because of the former 5thoverall pick’s talent, but because of his availability. Over the first five years of his NFL career, Tagovailoa has dealt with fractured ribs, a lingering hip issue dating back to his time at Alabama, and three serious concussions.
In total, these injuries have cost him the equivalent of nearly a full NFL season. And for a guy who is being paid as handsomely as Tua is, playing the most important position in football, that just can’t continue to be the trend.
Not all of these injuries have necessarily been a result of reckless play from Tagovailoa, or carelessness on the part of the Miami Dolphins coaching staff. ESPN’s Marcel-Louis-Jacques notes that since Mike McDaniel became head coach of the Dolphins in 2022, Tagovailoa has the fastest time to throw in the NFL at 2.45 seconds.
Not much more can be done to protect Tua Tagovailoa, and Tua himself knows it’s up to him to make sure he’s available for his team.
“Doing everything I can to stay available for the guys. Like I said before in the past, nothing changes with that. It’s knowing when is the time to give up on a play,” Tagovailoa said this week, per Louis-Jacques. “And I would say the longevity for me to be on the field with my guys is more important than whatever that one play is. You have more quarters than there would be within just that one play that I’m trying to show the guys that I’m competitive and whatnot, and I know they know that, but it’s just a nature, it’s a nature thing. It just comes natural to me to compete in that sense. And that’s just the thing I fight with every time.”
Tua does make a good point. It is likely second nature to want to extend plays and win on each down. But that’s a short-term view of the job of a quarterback, and the 27-year-old knows he needs to zoom out and focus more on the long-term. If he does, he could be on the verge of a huge season in 2025.
“I’ve got to sort of shift my mindset. … This isn’t just practice where guys can’t hit me. You got to take it into a sense where if this guy’s here, get the ball out and if I’m scrambling and this guy’s getting close, not to just hold on to it knowing they can hit me if it was real football. Just throw it away or run and then just stop to signify it to slide, if you will — but I think it’s the transition and focus of bringing that game-like feel into practice.”
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