Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had an impressive season in 2023, leading the league in passing with 4,624 yards. It was the best season of Tagovailoa’s career and much of that was due to him simply staying healthy. While he played well, the doubters still question if he’s the quarterback to lead this Dolphins team to a Super Bowl.
The questions are fair for a quarterback who hasn’t taken his team past the first round of the playoffs, but it’s also fair to say that Tagovailoa has received some unfair criticism in his career. The criticism is continuing this offseason, latest seen on an episode “The Joel Klatt Show” when Klatt suggested the Dolphins draft Michael Penix out of Washington.
“We waited a long time because I’ve wanted to do this. I did it in my first mock and I’m going to do it again here. And I’ve just been waiting and waiting and waiting on the Tua contract news… Tua does not have a deal and to me, that’s telling. The way I view Tua in Mike McDaniel’s offense is that it’s not the right offense for him.”
Klatt questions Tagovailoa’s fit in the Dolphins’ offense, which is an interesting comment given the nearly 5,000-yard season he had.
“When you watch Miami and what they really do, what they need is a guy that throws on time, with great leverage, and accuracy down the field. There just so happens to be a guy that that is his best attribute sitting there available and that’s Michael Penix.”
Penix Has the Same Questions That Tagovailoa Has
Penix played well for Washington last season, throwing for 4,903 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. It was the best season of his career as well, but he has many of the same questions that Tagovailoa has.
The expected first-round pick has dealt with multiple injuries in his career, suffering two season-ending injuries in each of his four seasons at Indiana. He tore two ACLs and had two shoulder injuries.
Tagovailoa has had his injury worries in the past, but put those to rest this season, staying healthy all year. While that’s not a guarantee next season or any other year, it was a promising sign for the Miami Dolphins.
If they were to move Tagovailoa and draft Penix, drafting a quarterback with similar health questions doesn’t make much sense. The Dolphins saw they were good enough to win games at a high level last season with Tagovailoa running the offense. While they lost to the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, it’s unfair to judge him off a playoff game that had severe weather against the best team in the NFL.
Former Dolphins Player Believes They Can Win a Super Bowl With Tagovailoa
Former Miami Dolphins all-time great, Xavien Howard, believes Tagovailoa can lead the team to a Super Bowl. Despite not winning a playoff game yet in his young career, Howard seems confident the Dolphins will get one with him.
Appearing on the “The OGs Podcast” on March 19, Howard had the following to say.
“Yeah. I feel like they can definitely do that. I feel like they definitely win a ‘chip with him,” Howard said.
Howard saw firsthand the type of work that Tagovailoa puts in and it’s a promising sign that he feels this way about his former teammate.
Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com, focusing on the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks and Washington Commanders. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan
