Cote: Time for QB Tua to play hardball, boycott training camp amid Dolphins contract impasse | Opinion
Players pick the music that emanates from loudspeakers during practices, so what was heard early on Day 1 of Miami Dolphins training camp Wednesday might have been purely unintentional ... although I think not. I’d rather believe the song choice was a clever wink at the situation that overshadows the entire team as it begins preparing for the season ahead.
“Bank Account,” by the hip-hop artist 21 Savage, played moments after the Dolphins — and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — ran onto the field.
“I got 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 M’s in my bank account, yeah,” goes one of the lyrics that don’t need sanitizing.
There are at least that many M’s (millions) separating what the Dolphins believe Tagovailoa is worth in a contract extension and what value the QB places on himself. All around the NFL top quarterbacks are getting contract extensions worth $50 million-plus per year, leaving Miami’s guy on the outside looking in as negotiations continue at what appears glacier speed.
“I mean, I’m not blind to people that are in my position that are getting paid,” Tagovailoa said earlier this offseason. “The market is the market.”
He admitted being “antsy” about the situation. And that was more than two months ago. Now preseason camp has begun. Still no deal.
Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love, also due a contract extension, is refusing to participate in training camp until a deal is done.
Tagovailoa should do the same in a hardball tactic to help break the stalemate -- and add the $50,000-per-day fine to his demand.
Instead Tua has chosen not to make himself conspicuously absent and let club management know (both literally and figuratively) that he ain’t playin’. At least not yet.
He has been in a red practice jersey both days, practicing on a limited basis Wednesday and not at all Thursday, though present.
The next step may be a full now-show, and I would blame him if he was. Tagovailoa is just entering his prime at 26, was healthy and played every game last season, made the Pro Bowl and led the NFL in passing yards. He deserves what the market says top quarterbacks are getting. The Dolphins, unwisely, I think, believe otherwise.
Tagovailoa eschewing a holdout and showing up at camp thus far may be pragmatic more than altruism. He would be fined $50K daily if AWOL from camp.
He’ll likely continue to practice little if at all until a contract extension is agreed upon, and the Dolphins and Tagovailoa both will suffer in the meantime. Training camp is important. It sets the tone for everything. That’s a huge reason Miami, claiming that extending Tagovailoa was a “priority,” needed to get the deal done before now.
Tagovailoa’s agent/management team happens to be called Athletes First.
In this case the player put Team First by showing up at camp despite the contractual inertia. It was and should be seen by management as a good-faith gesture worthy of reciprocation -- but nothing would convey Tua’s frustration like a holdout.
Tagovailoa has declined to speak with the media tus far at camp, but teammates applaud the team-first symbolism of their quarterback declining to be a no-show.
“It means a Iot,” said running back De’Von Achane. “Just hi being out here matters.”
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey said, “I don’t want to get into another man’s business,” but couldn’t help but add, “We all want [a deal] to get done. I hope he gets every penny he wanted.”
Top receiver Tyreek Hill: “As far as [Tagovailoa’s] mental health standpoint, he feels amazing. He’s very excited to be back with all the guys, so it’s great to see him out there. Still coming in to work, still about his business without having a deal done — it’s just been awesome, man. Just having him around, just his presence means a lot.”
Tagovailoa showing up did not surprise Hill.
“Tua, he’s very competitive. He would not tell you that, but he’s very competitive and he’s a guy that doesn’t like to fall too far behind,” Hill said. “He understands that we have a really good team, and he doesn’t want to miss his window. Like I said, we’ve got a great offense. Our defense is really good, it’s looking really good this year so he understands all of that.”
What the Dolphins need to understand as well is that this supposedly “very good team” needs its Pro Bowl quarterback — needs him fully prepared and feeling properly valued — to unlock whatever this season’s potential truly is. And they need Tagovailoa’s preparation in camp to be paramount, not that of backups Mike White and Skylar Thompson.
The Dolphins have been very good for much of coach Mike McDaniel’s first two seasons — except when it matters most, at the end. Miami ended the 2022 season end on a 1-6 skid and closed 2023 in a 2-4 swoon. New Fins safety Jordan Poyer, formerly of Buffalo, said the Bills considered Miami a team that would fold when down.
“When you don’t win games down the stretch and don’t win playoff games, those things will be said,” admitted McDaniel. “In the NFL you are either finding reasons for success or failure. We want finish the season right.”
The air horn sounded to end Wednesday’s 80-minute first practice of camp and a half hour or so later the field was cleared but for a handful of players still out there.
One of them was the man in the red practice jersey with the number 1. Tua Tagovailoa was running sprints.
Remember the dates Aug. 6 and 7. They will be here fast. That is when the Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons hold joint practices prior to opening the three-game preseason schedule against each other that week. That is when concern would deepen if Tagovailoa and Miami remain mired in this contractual stalemate.
“It’s only a distraction if you allow it to be,” McDaniel said, but that’s wishful thinking.
The starting quarterback feeling undervalued by his own team will be the biggest story in the buildup to this season until the Dolphins make it go away by appreciating what they have in Tagovailoa and showing it the way that matters most.
This story was originally published July 24, 2024 at 3:34 PM.
