Mike McDaniel calls the growth of Tua Tagovailoa 'very exciting'

The Miami Dolphins are entering Year 5 of Tua Tagovailoa‘s tenure as the team’s starting quarterback and according to head coach Mike McDaniel, the former Crimson Tide star is continuing to grow. It’s good news for the Dolphins who are on the brink of what feels like a breakthrough after their first-round playoff exit last season.

“It’s been very exciting because at this point, we’re like, ‘Alright, let’s really push ourselves to challenge this guy,'” McDaniel said of Tagovailoa’s growth, “because all he ends up doing is rising to the challenge with what we’ve been asking him to do.”

“Just that connectivity to your game and trying to unearth every single inch and iota of professional development,” McDaniel added. “That, in itself, you’re heading in the right direction.”

McDaniels isn’t the only one in the building taking notice of Tagovailoa’s improvement. Running back Raheem Mostert also sees an increase in confidence from the QB.

“He’s building up that confidence in himself and you can just tell,” Mostert said. “Even out here making these throws. He’s doing what he needs to do, and that’s what you want to see out of a guy like him.”

After dealing with injury concerns over the last couple of seasons of his football career, Tagovailoa played in every game in 2023. He led Miami to an 11-6 record and made the Pro Bowl after leading the NFL in passing with 4,624 yards. He completed 69% of his passes, which is a career-high, and had 29 touchdown passes, another career-high. The former first-rounder did hit 14 interceptions, more than he’s had in any other season so far, but he’s put in work with a new personal quarterbacks coach, John Beck, in the offseason and the duo could clean that up soon.

Tagovailoa in contract negotiations with Dolphins

Prior to OTAs, there was some speculation that Tagovailoa could hold out of the practices, as he did with most of the voluntary spring training program. According to ESPN reporter Jeremy Fowler, Tagovailoa’s decision to participate could signal some progress on his contract negotiations.

“The Miami Dolphins have started talks, they’ve made an offer, all those things but it hasn’t progressed all so well because he has missed some time,” Fowler said last week. “He’s missed some of the early voluntary offseason workout sessions.

“Whether he shows up coming up in the coming weeks will probably depend on how they progressed with the contract talks. The market speaks. We saw Jared Goff get a big deal in Detroit over $50 million (a year). So we’ll see how close Miami is willing to get to that threshold.”

Tagovailoa will play the 2024 season for the Dolphins on his fifth-year option deal after failing to land an extension thus far. He’ll play for $23.17 million, which is likely half the annual salary he’d garner on the open market.