Ryan Clark of ESPN recently made headlines for criticizing Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Clark said Tagovailoa didn't spend time in the gym during the offseason in addition to other comments about the QB. Tua was asked about Clark's comments, and he gave a fiery response.

“I would appreciate it if you kept my name out of your mouth,” Tua said, via Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team.

Tua Tagovailoa dealt with injury concerns during the 2022 season. That said, he's one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. Tagovailoa also explained how Clark's comments were “a little weird.”

“He probably knows more about me than I know about myself,” Tagovailoa added, per Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN. “I don't know… it's a little weird when other people are talking about other people when they're not that person. Just a little weird. Like my background is, I come from a Samoan family, respect is everything. It does get to a point where, ‘hey, little easy on that buddy.' We're pretty tough-minded people, if we need to get scrappy we can get scrappy too, just saying.'”

What did Ryan Clark say about Tua Tagovailoa?

Clark didn't hold back on Tagovailoa. His comments received backlash from not just Dolphins fans, but fans around the league.

“Let me tell you what he wasn’t doing: He wasn’t in the gym, I’ll bet you that,” Clark said on NFL Live, via The Palm Beach Post. “He might spend a lot of time in the tattoo parlor. He was not at the dinner table eating what the nutritionist had advised. He looks ‘happy,’ he is thick, he’s built like the girls working at Onyx right now.”

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Meirov also shared a video of Clark's comments.

Clark received laughs from the NFL Live crew but upset many other people. Tua Tagovailoa will surely use his words as motivation throughout the 2023 season. For a young QB who's career was considered to be in jeopardy due to concussion problems, one has to wonder why Clark would make these comments.

The Dolphins have a chance to make a legitimate postseason run during the 2023 campaign. Tua Tagovailoa would love nothing more than to perform especially well this season and lead his team to a championship.

Perhaps Clark unintentionally lit a fire underneath the young QB that will lead to a great season.