The Dolphins still ‘very confident in Tua Tagovailoa, plan to address backup QB in offseason

Despite the sub-.500 record versus playoff teams, despite the injury history and despite yet another season without a playoff victory, let alone an appearance, the Miami Dolphins front office still believes quarterback Tua Tagovailoa can lead them to a Super Bowl.

That’s what Dolphins general manager Chris Grier expressed Tuesday during his end-of-year news conference. The thing is, according to Grier, Tagovailoa just needs to stay healthy.

“He needs to be available,” Grier said, adding that he’s “very confident” in his franchise quarterback. “He needs to know how to protect himself. He’s going to get hit at times — it’s always going to happen — but he needs to control what he can control and he understands that. Not being available for taking chances and risks is unacceptable to us and he knows that.”

Tagovailoa started 11 games in 2024, the least amount since his rookie year, in large part due to injury. The 26-year-old sustained a concussion in the third quarter of Week 2 when he dove headfirst into the abdomen of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. The Dolphins placed Tagovailoa on injured reserve, leading him to miss the next four games.

In Tagovailoa’s absence, the Dolphins looked terrible, dropping three of four games, including an embarrassing 31-12 thumping courtesy of the lowly Tennessee Titans. That four-game stretch without the one-time Pro Bowler exposed another issue for the Dolphins: lackluster backup quarterback play. Grier vowed to better address that need in the offseason, even revealing that the Dolphins had nearly signed a few “top-flight backup quarterbacks” prior to 2024.

“We just couldn’t go to those prices,” Grier said of what fell apart between the Dolphins and the aforementioned backup quarterbacks. Their interest, however, indicated a “belief in [coach Mike McDaniel], offensive scheme and the players that are here.”

Added Grier: “That’s a position we will always focus on and it will be a position that we focus on this offseason. Every stone will be unturned at that position, including the draft.”

When Tagovailoa returned to the lineup in Week 8, the Dolphins would go 5-4 during their next nine games. Against the Houston Texans, however, he took a hit that left him with a hip injury that would be aggravated during the following game vs. the San Francisco 49ers. Tagovailoa would miss the final two games, a decision that left him “frustrated.”

“It’s tough,” Tagovailoa said Thursday. “It’s tough for any competitor to have to sit out when the season is on the line and you know you can do more.”

Although NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that Tagovailoa would be at risk of further damage if he played “before the swelling subsides and muscle tearing in the area heals,” Grier doesn’t think the hip would affect the Dolphins quarterback in the long term.

“No concern at all,” Grier said. “It was very unique injury so no concern at all.”

Since his arrival in Miami, Tagovailoa has been one the most accurate quarterbacks in the NFL, even posting a career-high, league-leading 72.9 completion percentage in 2024. The year prior, his 4,624 yards passing was an NFL best.

Still, durability has always been a bit of an issue for Tagovailoa. Since his time at Alabama, the quarterback has sustained four concussions as well as had two major surgeries on his ankle and hip, the latter of which caused him to miss the final three games of his collegiate career. Outside of his 2023 Pro Bowl season, he hasn’t played a full slate of games since the Dolphins drafted him fifth overall in 2022.

Then there’s his performance against the NFL’s upper echelon. Despite an exceptional 38-24 record, Tagovailoa has primarily beat up on teams with very little postseason aspirations. His career record against playoff teams is a dismal 7-17.

Regardless, Grier and company ultimately have faith in Tagovailoa’s growth. The general manager, for one, referenced the franchise quarterback’s leadership as well as relative youth considering his mastery of McDaniel’s complicated offensive scheme.

“All the players were talking about Tua’s leadership and the step he has taken,” Grier said, latter adding that a few free agents called Tagovailoa “one of the best leaders they’ve ever been around for a quarterback.”

“Players that can operate this system at the levels that he does, we feel very excited,” Grier added. “He’s 26-years-old. There’s still growth. I think every year you’ve seen growth in what he does. This year, Mike talked about some of the steps he took when he was on the field and he can still ascend which is kind of weird for a quarterback that has played as much as he has and won as many games as much as he has from high school to college to the NFL. We feel very confident. His teammates are extremely confident in him.”