Tua Tagovailoa will make his first NFL start Sunday as the Miami Dolphins play host to the Los Angeles Rams. The first-round pick out of Alabama paid tribute to his Hawaiian heritage as he arrived for the game.
Aqua looking good @Tua 🔥 pic.twitter.com/xJ98d5LgxM
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 1, 2020
Adam Schefter of ESPN added some information into why the Dolphins made the surprising move to Tagovailoa away from Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Per ESPN.com:
The Dolphins need to know what they have in Tagovailoa as they enter the 2021 draft with two picks in each of the first two rounds, courtesy of their trade last year that sent left tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Texans.
“That’s definitely a part of it,” one source close to the Dolphins’ thinking told ESPN, regarding Miami’s recent decision to replace popular veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick with Tagovailoa. “Whoever told you that is right.”
… Because they have Houston’s first-round pick, the Dolphins could be in prime position for one of the draft’s top-rated quarterbacks, be it Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields or North Dakota’s Trey Lance.
Sources: Miami Dolphins' trove of NFL draft picks factored into the decision to start Tua Tagovailoa today vs. the Rams.https://t.co/TzxVWZhvNP
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 1, 2020
How one teammate looks at the rookie QB:
As @Tua gets the start today for the @MiamiDolphins, I asked @Lastname_Baker what makes the rookie unique behind closed doors: “At the end of practice he ran out on the field…he started asking me so many good questions, I was like wow you really are above average." #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/H4tzTmvjj6
— Julie Stewart-Binks (@JSB_TV) November 1, 2020