Tua Tagovailoa practices for the first time. Here’s how he looked
It has been 43 days since Tua Tagovailoa last practiced.
And from the very moment coach Mike McDaniel announced the return of his franchise quarterback on Monday, all eyes would be on Tagovailoa when he actually suited up on Wednesday.
For somebody who hasn’t practiced since Sept. 10, Tagovailoa looked sharp, hitting Tyreek Hill on an in-breaking route at least once during the media availability portion of practice. It was clear that his presence provided a boost of energy to the team.
Tagovailoa’s return “was so beautiful that s--- almost made me cry today,” Hill said. “Just having him line up. Having him call the plays. Having him direct the offense. Just hearing his voice — I know it sounds crazy — but he’s a big part of this team.”
“That’s our guy,” Raheem Mostert said. “It felt good to have him back. I felt like the offense today was focused solely on details.”
Tagovailoa, who was placed on injured reserve within days of suffering a concussion during a Sept. 12 game against the Buffalo Bills, will look to inject some life into an offense that has scored the least points in the NFL. He’s not expected to be a savior of 2-4 Dolphins — McDaniel made that very clear on Monday — yet it was impossible to ignore the energy that the franchise quarterback brought to practice.
“He brought his own energy,” Robert Jones said. “That’s the one thing about Tua: he comes with the energy and pushes everybody to be their best. Having a leader back is always different.”
“Great energy,” Jonnu Smith said when asked about the intangibles that Tagovailoa brings to the field. “The thing with Tua is, that’s the type of guy he is. The energy that he’s going to give off and radiate is going to be contagious.”
Smith added that Tagovailoa brought a great energy even before his return, something that goes hand-in-hand with what McDaniel said about the quarterback.
“He has really shown his maturity that continues to evolve, and I think he found a way to be even more of a leader just by investing in his teammates when he can’t play,” McDaniel said, later adding he’s “making sure that his teammates know that he’s right there with them and is keeping track of all the things that are going on within the offense and talking to every position group about certain things that he sees that aren’t up to the standard, whether that’s a Monday film review or a Wednesday practice, he hasn’t taken a day off from them.”
Still, having him back was just different.
“He never shies away from humility and he’s awlays at his best when those things come about,” Mostert said, adding that his respect for Tagovailoa has grown tremendously throughout the quarterback’s recovery process. “He takes ownership in his leadership and his craft and he takes pride in that. To get him back to get the guy that we trust who is a key part of this offense is very critical for the organization.”
His return, however, didn’t come without a bit of internal jokes. Both Hill and Mostert emphasized the importance of sliding to their franchise quarterback.
“I tell his a-- all the time,” Hill quipped. “When we’re playing against the Colts, you see the fans started clapping for Anthony Richardson when he slid? Our fans need to clap for Tua and make him slide.”
Added Mostert: “We’ve been talking ever since his injury. I’ve been telling him, ‘Hey! You got to work on sliding.’ We all joke around and laugh but on a serious note, he knows that he has to protect himself a little bit better and moving forward, only he can control those things.”
As has been previously written, Tagovailoa’s return won’t solve the Dolphins’ other offensive issues. The offensive line needs to eliminate the mental errors. There still remains questions in the running back room concerning delineation of carries. And the offense, overall, needs to find the balance between an improving rushing attack and passing the ball. Hill, however, believes that Tagovailoa’s return will be what turns the Dolphins’ 2-4 season around.
“Just having Tua will get us back,” Hill said. “He’s a big part of this team. He’s the franchise. Anybody that doesn’t see that or doesn’t believe it, go to another team.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2024 at 4:56 PM.
