The Phinsider
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is back and ready to play football.
After five weeks of listening to everyone else speak on the matter, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had a lot to say when he met with the South Florida media Monday afternoon. The most noteworthy, being that he's ready to play and has been for some time.
"I would say for myself, I'd been symptom-free from the next day after the game," Tagovailoa said in front of a crowded South Florida media room. He was then asked whether or not he'd wear a guardian cap, which he answered with a quick and resounding: "Nope," stating it was a "personal choice" when asked the reasoning.
This was how much of the press conference went, with Tua being asked one question after another about what the doctors, his family, and the team had to say about his future. It was clear he was frustrated that he had to miss time — while listening to all the experts and analysts say he should retire — despite admitting that he'd been throwing for the last five weeks and staying ready for when he would eventually return from injured reserve.
"Hey, I'm frustrated, but this is what it is. Do I want to be known for this? No, I don't, but that's the cards I've been dealt with, given the history of it. So it is what it is."
Tua continued:
"It's been frustrating. Frustrating for sure, but I've tried to stay in it with meetings with the guys, trying to continue to be the leader for guys in multiple position rooms in terms of what we're looking at, how you can make the quarterback's job a little easier by doing this, by doing that and then also some nuances within the offense as well, trying to help everyone."
The Dolphins have fallen to 2-4 without QB1 under center. The offense, which looked nearly unstoppable a season ago, has fallen to the bottom of the league, averaging a league-worst 11.7 points per game.
Tua is ready to change all that.
“I’ve been working my butt off as if I was getting ready to play every game for every week; looking over the gameplan, going out and working with the athletic staff to go stand in a spot and I throw it to them and continue to work the timing of my footwork and all that to stay in shape and just to get ready. I expect us to come out – whether we throw it deep or we don’t, expect us to come out and execute all of the plays that are given to us.”
McDaniel spoke to the media on Monday, saying Tua would likely start vs. the Cardinals, barring any setbacks.
*"Our plan is to start him practicing on Wednesday, and the clearing doesn't come until after some of the activity, but we're obviously doing so in the hope of everything going well so that he can play Sunday, but...
