4:01 p.m. ET
Marcel Louis Jacques ESPN
MIAMI — All indications are that Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is under pressure for the 2022 season.
Within three months of this offseason, the Dolphins hired an offensive-minded coach in Mike McDaniel, traded for All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill, and signed ESPN’s top free agent at left tackle Terron Armstead — all without mentioning their additions from running Backs Raheem Mostert and Chase Edmonds, guard Connor Williams and receiver Cedrick Wilson.
With few questions left about his supporting cast, it’s easy to point to Tagovailoa as the catalyst for the team’s success this season.
But the pressure to succeed is like the sun in Miami for him – it’s always there.
“I think the pressure will be there every time,” he said on Wednesday. “I don’t feel any more pressure that we took on all these guys. It’s more of an opportunity that I’m getting, that we’re all getting as a team, to show what we can do this year.”
1 relatives
Tagovailoa and the Dolphins returned to their squad rooms in early April to begin their off-season training program, which players may choose to attend.
Several veterans, such as cornerback Xavien Howard and offensive tackle Austin Jackson, have spoken out about the strong attendance at Miami’s workouts so far, with Tagovailoa backing up that narrative during his first media session of the offseason on Wednesday. The third-year quarterback also recognized first-year head coach McDaniel for the work done to date.
“The dressing room feels different. We’re all excited,” said Tagovailoa. “This is the first time I’ve seen a lot of people show up in Phase I of the OTAs, and a lot of veterans are coming along. I think that speaks a lot for Mike and the relationship he has with a lot of the guys on the team and the respect he has from the players in the dressing room.”
Tagovailoa also spoke about his relationship with McDaniel and quoted McDaniel’s presence at his charity event earlier in April.
He said McDaniel “doesn’t force you to be what you aren’t,” which endeared him to his players in his first few months at the helm.
While the focus of a team generally revolves around its quarterback, the additions Miami have made, particularly on offense, have been made with McDaniel rather than Tagovailoa in mind. General manager Chris Grier said many of the team’s new players fit Tagovailoa’s abilities, but all fall within what McDaniel wants to achieve with his offense.
“Yes, I think a lot of that has to do with Coach McDaniel and his coaching staff as well. Kind of the offensive that Mike is doing and what he’s building here and what his philosophy was,” Grier said. “I think yes, we added some parts on offense as well, but a lot of that fits what Mike is looking for.
“The dressing room feels different. We’re all excited. This is the first time I’ve seen a lot of people show up in Phase I of the OTAs, and a lot of veterans are joining. I think that speaks a lot to Mike and the relationship he has with a lot of the guys on the team and the respect he has from the players in the dressing room.”
Tua Tagovailoa
Tua Tagovailoa“A lot of that aligns with what Tua does well and I think we’re all very excited. I know Mike was raving about Tua here – about him and Coach (Darrell) Bevell – about their time working with him and spending time with him in the briefing rooms and watching him here on the field yesterday. So yes, we’re really looking forward to him and looking forward to the season and to see how he develops.”
Tagovailoa’s 2021 season has led many pundits in the league to criticize his cap. He finished last season in the NFL with the seventh-best completion percentage, but his 6.92 average air yards per attempt ranked eighth lowest in the league, while his 10.09 average yards per attempt ranked seventh.
He also missed most of six games last season with various injuries.
But that was under the previous regime of the dolphins. Under a new offensive staff, Tagovailoa expects to be more efficient in his third NFL season — especially with the weapons he now has at his disposal.
“I sat down with the head coach and we went through about 150 throwing clips,” he said. “Throws that have to be better, throws that were good, all kinds of throws. The reason he showed me that is because it goes into the way he kind of plans the offense.
“Really, the biggest thing for us is YAC (yards after catch). We want to get YAC out of the teams.”