Tua Tagovailoa wants to stay healthy, earn contract extension
Tua Tagovailoa found success on the field in 2022, but there is still pause around giving him a long-term extension. The main reason for concern is Tagovailoa’s history of serious injuries, namely concussions.
In 2022, the Miami Dolphins signal caller played in 13 games and missed the team’s playoff game. As Tagovailoa enters the final year of his rookie deal, he understands that he needs to stay healthy for the Dolphins to invest in him long-term.
In an interview with Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post, Tagovailoa expressed that he needs to stay healthy to prove to the Dolphins that he is the long-term answer in 2023. Full quote via Pro Football Talk.
“I think I’ve got to do what I’ve been doing this past year, outside of injuries,” Tagovailoa said Tuesday, via Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post. “Just the way I play football, play my style of football. But I think the things that have hurt me have been just the injuries. And so I’ve been working really hard to hopefully, elongate myself, you know, throughout to withstand seasons. And so we’ll see how all that plays out. And God willing, I can make it through the entire season and we can win a playoff game, we can win a Super Bowl, all of that good stuff.”
Tagovailoa has struggled with injuries throughout his NFL career. In 2022, he suffered two concussions that kept him out of competition. Those head injuries will be the largest issue that he needs to overcome.
Tagovailoa has spent the 2023 offseason working to overcome his injury concerns. The Alabama product has been implementing jiu-jitsu in his offseason workouts. The hope is that this will help him brace for falls and take less damage to the head.
Tagovailoa will have every opportunity to prove that he deserves to be the Dolphins’ long-term starter. The Dolphins have made it clear that Tagovailoa will keep his starting job entering the 2023 NFL Season.
If Tagovailoa stays healthy and continues to progress on the field, the Dolphins will have no choice but to give Tagovailoa a long-term extension.
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