Despite some swirling rumors earlier this offseason about the Miami Dolphins’ potential interest in exploring their ability to trade for Deshaun Watson, second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has kept his head down and stayed focus. We’ve seen constant glimpses of Tagovailoa grinding throughout the winter and early spring — clearly committed to making the most of his second season in the NFL and build upon a promising, but also frustrating, rookie season.
Part of the appeal Tagovailoa brings to the offseason is his health — Tagovailoa enters the 2021 offseason healthy one year after his playing career was put into question. And now, with health on his side, we’re seeing Tagovailoa put his foot down on the gas pedal and try to push himself to the standard he and many around the Dolphins organization expect.
But Tagovailoa isn’t doing it alone. And, as shown in a recent shot from a throwing session in South Florida, nearly the entire Dolphins receiving corps is in on the grind. Tagovailoa posted “It’s all in the details” this afternoon with several images attached on Instagram. But the second photo is the most significant one.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNNekh0M1k7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Dolphins wide receivers Mack Hollins, DeVante Parker, Albert Wilson and Kirk Merritt were all tagged in the post, plus recent Dolphins signee Robert Foster also appears to be featured in the shot. We’ve seen from previous videos that Tagovailoa has been working with Jakeem Grant as well this offseason — meaning the second-year quarterback has been throwing to at least half of the wide receivers currently under contract with the team at some point this offseason, if not more.
There’s plenty of work to be done, but as Tagovailoa is showing us this offseason, he’s clearly not shying away from the challenge. And with the general consensus being that most quarterback’s most important jump comes from Year 1 to Year 2, the work will go a long way in giving the Dolphins clarity of what Tagovailoa’s ceiling is in the long-term.