In the Miami Dolphins’ three preseason games, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa took 33 snaps. The Dolphins’ pass-catching trio of wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and tight end Darren Waller played a total of eight preseason snaps, all by Waddle.
But Tagovailoa thought he got something important out of his two preseason appearances.
“It felt good to get hit again,” Tagovailoa said after the Dolphins’ preseason finale last week. “Maybe that’s not what people want to hear, but as we’re getting ready and getting started to get back into the normal routine of what a season would feel like, it feels good to get out there, get sacked a little bit. Was that the result we wanted? Nope. It feels weird that I’m going to say it, but in my head, it’s all right to have gotten touched.”
Miami fans don’t want to hear about the former Alabama All-American getting hit because of his injury history. Since the start of the 2021 season, Tagovailoa has averaged 253.6 passing yards per game, eighth-best in the NFL for players who appeared in at least 50 games. But he missed four games in 2021 with rib and finger injuries, four games in 2022 because of two concussions and six games in 2024 with a concussion and a hip injury.
Tagovailoa played on Miami’s opening possession of the preseason. He guided the Dolphins through a 16-play series, but Miami got stopped on fourth-and-goal at the Chicago Bears 1-yard line.
Tagovailoa played three series in the Dolphins’ preseason finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Miami punted after a pair of three-and-out possessions to open the game (although a penalty nullified an 11-yard completion by Tagovailoa on the first snap). Tagovailoa was sacked once during each series.
On the third drive, Tagovailoa took the Dolphins 61 yards in nine plays for a touchdown pass and 2-point conversion throw. The scoring series included an 8-yard completion to Waddle.
NFL teams do not have to provide injury details in the preseason, but Hill and Waddle had some issues, with Hill coming off wrist surgery, and Waller is coming back after retiring after the 2023 season.
It’s standard procedure for NFL teams to put their No. 1 QB on the field in the preseason only with their No. 1 offensive line. But Miami couldn’t quite do that. A leg injury sustained early in training camp kept right tackle Austin Jackson off the field after he was limited to 47 percent of the Dolphins’ offensive snaps last season.
Miami is expecting three new offensive-line starters to join Jackson and center Aaron Brewer this season, with 2024 second-round draft pick Patrick Paul stepping in for the retired Terron Armstead at left tackle, James Daniels signed for right guard in free agency and second-round rookie Jonah Savaiinaea penciled in at left guard.
Jackson said he expects to be on the field when Miami’s season kicks off on Sunday.
New offensive linemen and a new tight end aren’t the only things the Dolphins hope is new in 2025. Miami hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2000 postseason, and Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and coach Mike McDaniel have tried to instill a different attitude in this year’s team.
Grier said in his preseason press conference that Tagovailoa had been at the forefront of the attitude change.
“Tua’s been outspoken on things with people and handled it,” Grier said, “and that was a huge step for him for guys that have been around him for years. So it’s been good that you know the message is being carried on and those guys believe in it 100 percent. …
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“Been a little different down there in how they’ve approached things, and we saw it from Day 1 in OTAs, like the offensive and defensive groups would stay out on the field on their own -- which I had never seen here in years -- for like an hour after as a group by themselves in their own time walking through stuff.”
The Dolphins kick off their 17-game regular-season schedule against the Indianapolis Colts at noon CDT Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.
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