The Miami Dolphins’ training camp has arrived without the long-anticipated contract extension for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. But the former Alabama All-American reported to training camp on time and participated in the Dolphins’ first practice on Wednesday – but not completely.
In a situation that Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel termed “very fluid,” Tagovailoa skipped Miami’s 11-on-11 work except for two handoffs, ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe reported.
“The plan is something that I think there are two parts to it,” McDaniel said before practice. “I think it’s important to acknowledge that Tua is in the midst of a contract negotiation that’s important to him and the football team. That being said, we communicate very well, and it’s very fluid. We are taking it day-by-day today. I expect it to be kind of like OTAs, and we’ll move on from there.”
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Tagovailoa also selectively participated in the Dolphins’ offseason program, but it didn’t produce a contract extension after Miami general manager Chris Grier said in April he hoped the team could work one out this offseason.
“I know as an organization we’ve prioritized it by entering in negotiations a long time ago, whenever that started,” McDaniel said. “By doing that, I think it speaks to kind of how important it is to both sides that they’re relentlessly working on it. Great things take time.
“The one thing that’s come about this whole process is I am very, very confident in my relationship with Tua, and he can separate the business entity from – ultimately, he knows any way you cut it, our focus has to be on what it looks like when he’s playing football.”
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Tagovailoa is scheduled to play the 2024 season on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, which Miami picked up last offseason. That would pay Tagovailoa $23.171 million.
If Tagovailoa’s salary stays at that figure, 20 other quarterbacks would be paid more in 2024.
During the 2023 campaign, Tagovailoa started every game for the first time in his career. He completed 388-of-560 passes for 12,639 yards with 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Tagovailoa led the NFL in passing yards after leading the league in passing-efficiency rating in 2022.
With a 97.1 career passing-efficiency rating, Tagovailoa is the fifth NFL player to throw at least 1,500 times in his first four seasons and rate that highly.
The Dolphins open their three-game preseason schedule on Aug. 9 against the Atlanta Falcons and kick off their regular-season schedule on Sept. 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“We’ll adjust however we see fit to make sure we are appropriately positioning our players for success,” McDaniel said of his practice plans. “And all of those things are a distraction if you allow them to be. Myself, I have open conversations about that stuff to the team and to understand that we’re all not robots. You have to consciously make sure that you are worried about the right stuff. I think our team is.
“Our team is really excited about practicing against each other and making today matter and having something to build on for tomorrow. I have no concerns about distractions, and we together make sure that we do whatever we can to put our best foot forward, really.”
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.