Dolphins’ Savaiinaea progresses. And the story with Tagovailoa runs and footwork
A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Thursday heading into Sunday’s game at the Jets (1 p.m., CBS):
▪ Dolphins left guard Jonah Savaiinaea is still not out of the cellar in Pro Football Focus’ rating of guards this season. (He’s ranked 79th of 79, for whatever that’s worth.)
But say this for the rookie: There has been improvement.
After permitting 29 pressures and four sacks in his first 10 games, Miami’s second-round pick has allowed just three pressures in the past two games.
PFF said he yielded a sack against the Saints, though Tua Tagovailoa could have gotten rid of the ball more quickly.
“[I’m] getting better, but there’s always something I need to improve on, especially in the passing game,” he said. “Running game, I’m starting to get more comfortable playing with my length.”
What has offensive line coach Butch Barry emphasized with him?
“Playing with length, especially in the running game. If I play with length, it will help me different than other guys. Other guys might play better if they’re really tucked in as far as their elbows.”
“The other coaching point I put in my game was [center Aaron Brewer] told me to meet force with force.”
Offensive coordinator Frank Smith said Thursday that “it’s good to see his growth in all areas. Rookies have to understand growth comes through failure. It’s hard. You go to high school, you’re the best player. This is the first level where you might have to play someone who’s 32 and knows exactly what you’re trying to do.”
▪Tagovailoa suggested this week that he knows he shouldn’t have slid prematurely on a late game third-and-4 against New Orleans. In accordance with NFL rules, referees marked him down when he began his slide, and that left Miami 2 yards short of a first down. Ollie Gordon II then was stuffed on fourth down.
“I think assessing the situation, talking with [coach], those are quick decisions that you have to make,” he said. “We’ve talked through it. I’ve got to make the right decision for the team and for us to keep us on the field.”
Coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa “was trying to dive forward. We have to work on executing that in tight pockets.”
Tagovailoa, who has been told to protect himself from injuries in most circumstances, has rushed 18 times for 42 yards and has picked up a first down on only one of those 18 carries, by far the worst percentage of his career.
He picked up 13 first downs as a rookie and as a second-year player, on 36 and 42 carries, respectively.
He picked up only four first downs on 23 carries in his first year with McDaniel (2022) and had five first downs on 35 and 17 carries, respectively, the past two seasons.
His 2.3 yards per carry is 24th among quarterbacks this season. His one rushing first down is tied for next to last among starters, ahead of Rams QB and potential league MVP Matt Stafford, who remarkably has no first downs on 25 carries this year after producing 10 on 30 rushing attempts last season.
On passing plays, Tagovailoa’s footwork hasn’t been as good this season, and that’s seemingly contributed to the plunge in his passer rating from 101.4 to 85.9.
Is a quarterback’s footwork fixable during a season?
“Nothing is impossible,” offensive coordinator Frank Smith said. “It’d be like a lineman who is giving up sacks, is turning into a turnstile on the edge.
“You’re like, can you fix it? Yes, you can fix it because you have to build confidence in what you’re doing…. When you’re golfing and your shot is going, you don’t think about it. And then all of a sudden it’s like a throw here or there, and you start thinking about things and you get back to your fundamentals....
“It’s basically drilling in practice,... so you feel confident in what you’re doing. So yes, I think you can do it in season.”
▪ Defensive tackle Benito Jones, who practiced fully on Wednesday while dealing with an ankle injury, was not at practice Thursday; the team attributed his absence to ankle/personal (reasons).
Center Aaron Brewer was limited Thursday, with the team listing ankle, neck and knee. Safety Elijah Campbell (ankle) was limited. Tight end Darren Waller was given a rest day.
▪ Players and defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said the October addition of Bill Shuey as a defensive consultant has been a positive.
“He’s super helpful,” Chop Robinson said.
Shuey, who was previously the outside linebackers coach for the Bears and Jaguars, has been another set of eyes to supplement defensive line coach Sean Ryan, who became defensive line coach when Ryan Crow was arrested on a battery charge that has since been dropped. (Crow remains away from the team as the NFL investigates what led to the arrest.)
“Bill is a guy that when I was in Baltimore, we interviewed him for the outside backers job and I thought he did an outstanding job, so we were fortunate that he was on the street and still living in Jacksonville,” Weaver said.
“I made a call after I talked to Mike and [senior vice president of football and business administration] Brandon Shore and everybody at the time and just said, ‘Hey, we kind of need this add. This would help us.’
“He was coaching his kids’ flag football teams. I think he got here on Friday, and he traveled to the game. The guys were like, ‘Who the heck is this guy?’ And he had a locker when we were at the Browns stadium and [offensive assistant] Max McCaffrey goes up to [equipment manager] Joe Cimino and was like, ‘I think there’s some random guy in the locker room.’
▪ In contrast to some Dolphins fans, players apparently haven’t studied the team’s schedule to gauge the odds of an unlikely playoff berth.
Several players said they had no knowledge of the team’s remaining schedule.
“If you asked me who we’ve got next week, I couldn’t tell you,” Bradley Chubb said. “My fiancee is like, ‘for this game, your family is talking about… I’m like, when do we play them?’ It’s laser focused on the opponent every week. I try not to look ahead.”
Rasul Douglas dismissed TV networks listing the Dolphins as ‘in the hunt’: “That’s far. [We] need a lot of things to happen.”
According to The Athletic’s playoff predictor, Miami (5-7) has a 1% chance to make the playoffs and only a 14% chance if it wins its final five games.
▪ When tight ends coach Jon Embree learned the Lions had claimed Hayden Rucci off waivers, he spewed “words my mother would not be happy with. It took me five minutes” to get over it.
The Dolphins were bullish on Rucci — particularly as a run blocker — but released him on Saturday when they needed the roster spot for Darren Waller. They hoped to move him back to the practice squad, but Detroit torpedoed that by claiming him.
“I’m happy for him; great opportunity for him,” Embree said. “It’s part of business of this game. You go with the odds, and it got us this time.”
Here’s my Thursday Dolphins piece on Anthony Weaver’s explanation for a few defensive personnel changes.
Here’s my Thursday’s piece on where the Miami Hurricanes roster stands heading into next season.
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 5:30 PM.
