The offseason is the time for players to work on their craft and continue developing their game for a more productive season the following year. With Tua Tagaovailoa, the Dolphins quarterback has spent the last few months working on ensuring that he can play wire-to-wire after an injury-filled start to his career.
Tagovailoa missed five total games last year due to a head injury, including the final two games of the regular season and the club’s playoff loss to Buffalo. Since then, the former first-round pick has added judo into his offseason workouts to teach him to fall safely upon getting hit and has recently noted that he has added muscle.
“Offseason training has been good,” he said Monday, via the Palm Beach Post. “Been working on strength in many areas and been chipping away at things that I felt like I needed to work on to get to where I feel like I can get to in the later parts of the season.”
Tagovailoa has yet to play a full season and saw a career-high 13 starts in 2022. When he was on the field last year, the Dolphins saw a noticeable uptick in production where he led the NFL in passer rating and yards per attempt. Miami was also 8-5 in his 13 starts and in the thick of the AFC playoff race. Despite those injury concerns, that play was enough for the franchise to pick up his fifth-year option that’s worth $23.17 million, and ensure he’s locked in through the 2024 season.
The Dolphins are entering Year 2 under head coach Mike McDaniel and continued to add to the roster this offseason by making a splash trade for cornerback Jalen Ramsey. If Tagovailoa can stay healthy, Miami should again be in the playoff conversation.
“I’m very excited,” he said of the upcoming year. “I think our entire team is excited to get back out there. Get to meet a lot of the newer guys and guys who have been in this system for a whole year now. So it’s very exciting. And I think a lot of fans, the community, everyone is very supportive.”
The voluntary portion of Miami’s offseason program begins on Monday, April 17.
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Author: Tyler Sullivan
April 11, 2023 | 9:45 am
