Why Tua Tagovailoa believes his new approach to practice will improve his availability

C. Isaiah Smalls II, Miami Herald on Jun 10, 2025

Published in Football

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MIAMI — How Tua Tagovailoa changes his body in the offseason has been heavily discussed for the last few years.

In 2023, it was “thick Tua,” an ode to his increased body mass. In 2024, it was “skinny Tua” due to his weight loss as he looked to become quicker on his feet. Now, in 2025, the focus has turned from physical to mental.

“Doing everything I can to stay available for the guys,” Tagovailoa said Tuesday, adding that his biggest emphasis was “knowing when is the time to give up on the play.”

Tagovailoa’s availability will be questioned as long as he’s the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback. Since coach Mike McDaniel arrived in 2022, Tagovailoa has missed 11 total games due to injury, six of which occurred in 2024. The somewhat nature of his 2024 concussion and hip injury — both came after Tagovailoa scrambled and took unnecessary contact against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 and Houston Texans in Week 15 — meant that something needed to change.

“The longevity for me to be on the field with my guys is more important than that one play,” Tagovailoa continued.

This required what Tagovailoa deemed a mind-set shift — no longer would he try to prove his competitiveness to his teammates because “they know” — as he wanted to use practice more effectively.

“I’ve got to sort of shift my mind-set of ‘this isn’t just practice where guys can’t hit me,’” Tagovailoa said. “I got to take it into a sense where, if this guy is here, get the ball out and if I’m scrambling and this guy’s getting close, not just to hold on to it knowing they can hit me if this was real football. Just throw it away or run and then just stop to signify its a slide. It’s just the transition and focus of bringing that game-like feel into practice.”

Tagovailoa’s statement falls in line with something that McDaniel added in 2025.

“We’re doing a little more situational football earlier in our teaching progression but there will be more specifically after the break and into training camp,” McDaniel said May 28.

It’s clear the emphasis has begun to work. During 11-on-11s, Tagovailoa had a great throw away that would’ve cost the Dolphins at least 10 yards if he would’ve taken the sack. That might not initially sound significant, however, McDaniel said Tagovailoa’s mastery of the finer points of the offense — when to get rid of the ball rather than force a throw — will be the next step in the quarterback’s development.

“We already know he can do a lot of things throwing the football, but we’re working on the craft of being a quarterback each and every play and continuing that process of development so that he continues to be on the field a better version of himself than he was the year previous,” McDaniel said May 28. “At this point in Year 4 in the system, I think everything’s on the radar for me, and we’re coaching a lot of things about his technique and fundamentals, as well as how to be a quarterback of a franchise in the appropriate fashion.”

Added McDaniel: “Regardless of whether the result was on the field in that moment, touchdown or pick, he’s utilizing that rep, and that’s what I’m asking of him this offseason, because that focus for a quarterback is the hardest thing to develop.”

What this means for the 2025 Dolphins remains to be seen. The team, it would seem, is in the midst of a culture shift, something Tagovailoa said he can “feel.” Guys such as Terron Armstead and Calais Campbell are gone, allowing for some younger voices to step up and hone their own leadership skills. That would put an extra emphasis on Tagovailoa and as long as he can stay healthy, the Dolphins certainly have a shot.

“We have the right guys within the room, within the locker room, within the offense and I know those guys on defense feel like they have their guys as well,” Tagovailoa said. The message, according to Tagovailoa, to his teammates is simple: “I’ve been here for five years, going on six. Are you not tired of what we’ve done with that five years? If you are, why aren’t we doing anything about it?”

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