Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said he’s hopeful QB Tua Tagovailoa will be at OTA’s despite his current contract negotiations.
‘’I do expect him to be in OTAs because of my working relationship with Tua,” McDaniel said at the NFL’s annual owners meetings on Monday. “And for two years I’ve watched Tua gain some unbelievable residuals towards the season in that process. It’s part of the reason Tua is who he is, because he’s always learning, never staying the same and always working on his craft.”
“I don’t really put too much thought beyond that. I understand the business but I also understand my job with Tua is to make sure that his football is continuing to evolve, and the best days are in front of him, which is both of our goals.”
Dolphins need Tua in camp
It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a player had held out, or held in, while waiting a new contract, but Tua still has a lot of development to do if you look at the Dolphins results against teams with a winning record.
At the same time you have a QB who has had a horrific injury in college, and multiple concussions and bruisings in his time in the NFL that wants to maximise his, and his families, future. As much as the Dolphins want him out there, Tua has to do what’s best for himself.
It won’t have been lost on Tua that Christian Wilkins was in the same boat and Miami never got round to making him that best offer. Wilkins will be plying his trade in Las Vegas from 2024, and there has to be some concerns about whether GM Chris Grier can get the job done this time around.
Tua could’ve been extended by Grier last off season, as were fellow 2020-draftees Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts. However, Grier opted to make Tua prove his worth in 2023. Tua went on to lead the league in a number of significant categories making Grier’s task even hard now as he likely raised his value by $10m-$15m per year.
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