There is some turmoil in the Miami Dolphins locker room when it comes to rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
The head coach Brian Flores, however, has his first-round draft pick's back.
After reports surfaced that some players were questioning Tagovailoa's ability to be a starter in the NFL, the front office of the Dolphins, including Flores, went into full protect mode to tell the world that he is their quarterback, noting his improvements throughout his first season and what he expects in year two.
“A lot of attention gets paid to Tua, but I thought he made a lot of improvement over the course of the season. I’m excited about the future with him,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores told Cameron Wolfe of ESPN on Thursday. “He’s a young player, talented player, bounced back from the hip. I think this is a big offseason for him. That Year 1 to Year 2 jump will be important like it is for all rookies.”
When it came to how the rest of the team felt about Tua, Flores tried to downplay the naysayers and insists that the team is on the same page.
“Criticism comes with the territory in the NFL across the board,” Flores said. “Our team did a good job ignoring that stuff. Anyone who saw the Dolphins this year saw we were a tight-knit group and I think that’s still the case. The idea that there is any kind of fracture is overblown. I thought there was a lot of support throughout the locker room. My message to the team has been to ignore the noise and the people inside the building are going to tell the truth to you. Without all the information, how do you make any determination about what’s going on?”
General manager Chris Grier also tried to help quell any talks of the Dolphins not trusting Tagovailoa.
“Tua, we’re very happy with. He’s our starting quarterback,” Grier said.
Tagovailoa helped lead the Dolphins to a 10-6 record, but even that was not enough to get Miami into the playoffs in a very strong AFC. In 10 games, Tua threw for 1814 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for 109 yards and three touchdowns.
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