Hall of Fame QB Has Advice for Miami Dolphins’ Tagovailoa

There has been a lot of smoke regarding potential offseason moves by the Miami Dolphins. When will they move All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey? Will they sign a free-agent corner to help replace him? Are they going to trade Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith? They wouldn’t trade Tyreek Hill, would they?

But, regardless of all of that, the question still centers on their quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. And while they absolutely need him to play well, first and foremost they need him to stay on the field.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers (and Los Angeles Express if we’re documenting his entire professional football career) quarterback Steve Young was on the Rich Eisen show recently and talked about Tagovailoa taking care of himself.

“You’ve just got to be smarter as you age, trying to figure it out, but if you’re not going to attack the line of scrimmage, if you’re not going to give that threat, you will not be in the Super Bowl,” Young said. “And so he has to figure out a way to present that threat without putting himself at greater risk.”

The Hall of Famer went on to acknowledge that, despite his lengthy injury history, the oft-injured signal caller is automatically at risk anyway just by playing football.

“It’s football,” he said. “You put the helmet on, you’ve got to go out and play. So, no matter what happens, you’re at risk. So that’s just a fact.”

Tua needs to find a balance between aggression and safety

Tagovailoa is in a bit of a pickle. On one hand, if he’s out on the field, he can’t think about getting hurt and just has to play the way he knows how to play. On the other hand, he has to be careful and can’t get reckless on game day.

“To be able to play the game the way it needs to be played, and make sure I remain available,” Young continued. “It’s a hard spot for him.”

In fairness, Tagovailoa is – not surprisingly – well aware of this and wants to take it one step at a time.

“Well, I think that’s why you have practice, and it starts in practice,” Tagovailoa said last week. “I gotta sort of shift my mindset of this isn’t just practice where guys can’t hit me. You gotta 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 to slide, if you will. But I think it’s the transition and focus of bringing that game-like feel into practice.”

Tua knows he can’t focus on the past

While Tagovailoa knows he can’t change the past, he certainly has to be aware of it. It’s a delicate balance, but he’s cognizant of the fact that the Dolphins can only go as far as he can take them.

“Doing everything I can to stay available for the guys,” he said. “Like I said before, in the past, nothing changes with that. It’s knowing when is the time to give up on a play. 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 thing. It just comes natural to me to compete in that sense. And that’s just the thing I fight with every time.”

Based on the reports about his backup Zach Wilson in OTAs and mandatory minicamp practices, Tagovailoa’s health is pertinent. If he were to miss any significant amount of time with an injury (hoping it’s not another concussion, which would be career-threatening if not career-ending), the Dolphins should have a roster fire sale and the head coach and general manager wouldn’t be far behind.