The Miami Dolphins' 2024 season did not go the way the team wanted. Coming off back-to-back postseason appearances, the Dolphins campaign was derailed almost immediately when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in Week 2.
Though Tagovailoa isn't often considered one of the league's best quarterbacks, his significance to the team was clear when he missed time with the concussion, which put a damper on Miami's playoff chances.
Earlier this week, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel shed light on what does not get appreciated enough about Tagovailoa, and a key reason he's valued as the franchise's starting quarterback.
"He is always. Getting. Better. He is always improving on things in his game," McDaniel told Kevin Clark. "That's one thing that is supremely important, specifically at the quarterback position and something people don't really recognize. All the best players in all our sports that we all have grown up loving, the common denominator is there's players with talent that continue to attack and master the position and it takes time. I think his strength will be what he'll lean as his career continues. That he's going to be a better version than what the world last saw."
I asked Mike McDaniel what we don't understand or appreciate enough about Tua Tagovailoa.
"He is always. Getting. Better. He is always improving on things in his game. That's one thing that is supremely important...and something people don't really recognize."
Great chat. pic.twitter.com/WiuRzvCDhr
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) April 3, 2025
Though Tagovailoa was limited to 11 games in 2024, he did see improvement with his completion percentage, completing a career-high 72.9% of his passes. Overall on the season, Tagovailoa threw for 2,867 yards, 19 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
In 2023, when he was fully healthy, the 27-year-old showed even greater improvement by throwing for a career-high in passing yards with 4,624 and touchdowns with 29. It was his lone 4,000-yard passing season in his career. He even led the league in passing yards and made his first career Pro Bowl. If healthy next season, Tagovailoa could once again show considerable progress as a quarterback.