Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa bulked up last offseason in an attempt to withstand the rigors that accompany his position in the NFL.
Concussions had caused the former Alabama All-American to miss five games and leave another in the first half during the 2022 season, so Tagovailoa worked with a jiu-jitsu instructor to improve his agility when being knocked down and added muscle and weight to deal with hits by defenders.
In 2023, Tagovailoa played in every game and led the NFL in passing yards.
More stories on the NFL
But on Monday, the first day of practices in Phase 3 of the Dolphins’ offseason program, the 2024 Tagovailoa looked different from the 2023 Tagovailoa.
“That was a big year this past season for Tua,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said on Tuesday, “being able to play the entirety of it at the professional level as well as having two years in a row with the same offense and play-caller. And in that process, you get to find out on your own exactly where there are different areas where you can improve your game. That’s something that we directly relate, him and I, in terms of looking for those competitive advantages so I think he identified that as one for himself and has – I think the results speak for themselves.
“He’s svelte.”
Tagovailoa’s presence at Monday’s practice was a relief for those Dolphins fans panicked by a report last week that the quarterback had been “mostly absent” during Miami’s offseason program. The Dolphins are seeking to work out a long-term contract with Tagovailoa, and the assumption to jump to from that report was an unhappy quarterback holding out to hasten negotiations along.
McDaniel was asked about Tagovailoa not attending “all” of the team’s offseason work.
“The good news about ‘all’ is it’s very black-and-white,” McDaniel said. “He has been here for offseason activities. He has not been here for offseason activities. He has been both. I think important in the player-coach relationship is communication, and I think however things play out, as long as we’re communicating and we’re on our P’s and Q’s on what we need to get accomplished, then we have a fighting chance and it’s been a good exercise in our relationship this offseason.”
Asked if the absences had been contract-related, McDaniel said: “I don’t make a habit of speaking for other people’s mouths, so I’ll let you guys ask Tua.”
Tagovailoa did not attend practice on Tuesday, but reports indicated the Dolphins were aware he had a long-standing commitment – playing in his college coach Nick Saban’s charity golf tournament.
Other than a three-day mandatory minicamp, participation by a player in an NFL team’s offseason program is voluntary.
Commonly called OTAs (for Organized Team Activities), Phase 3 practices allow NFL teams to expand their offseason on-the-field work to include 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills matching the offense and defense. Contact is still not allowed, but group drills can proceed at more than a walkthrough pace now.
Tagovailoa is scheduled to play the 2024 season on the team option of his rookie contract. Miami picked up its option on Tagovailoa’s four-year rookie contract last offseason to keep him out of free agency this offseason, and it came with a guaranteed salary of $23.171 million for the 2024 campaign.
While the Dolphins have Tagovailoa under contract for 2024, Miami general manager Chris Grier has said the team hopes to work out a long-term deal with the quarterback this offseason.
McDaniel said he doesn’t discuss the contract situation with Tagovailoa.
“I don’t want any of that burden in my life,” McDaniel said. “I’m an asset. This is what’s great about the orchestration of our organization. I think it’s important that the player-coach relationship is put on a pedestal where you don’t tinker with that. My job is to get him better. His job is to communicate with me how I’m doing in that process. I think we’re in a safe zone when he’s talking to me about my expertise and not about stuff that is not my expertise, so we try to stay true to that, and that’s paid us dividends this offseason.”
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.