The long wait for the Miami Dolphins is over. The team’s newest standout, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, has entered the building.
Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel reported earlier this week that Tagovailoa is officially training in Davie at the Dolphins facilities. Tagovailoa is eligible to rehab at the team’s headquarters despite the current COVID-19 restrictions as a player rehabbing a prior injury.
Prior to this week, Tagovailoa had been working independently from the team in Birmingham, Alabama — but those rehabilitation sessions were being conducted in coordination between his personal physical therapist, Kevin Wilk, and the Dolphins’ head athletic trainer Kyle Johnston.
The impressions Tagovailoa will set with the organization now that he’s in the building will be important — as they can help provide more clarity on exactly how conservative the Dolphins are going to need to handle their new franchise quarterback.
Kelly cites a team source in reporting that there are some within the Dolphins organization that feel that an extended timeline in 2020 is the best opportunity for success — that avoiding contact drills for a full year will help eliminate any extra risk Tagovailoa may be exposed to in the recovery from his full hip. If that were the case, Tagovailoa would not even begin contact drills until November when the anniversary of his injured hip rolls around.
But if, over the course of the next month or so ahead of training camp, Tagovailoa is able to impress in person with his performance and with any additional needed medical scans or examinations, perhaps he can change the perception as the team’s medical experts gather more information on his status. There’s still time left for Tagovailoa to provide clarity on how far along he is — but this is an important step. The foundation he’s able to establish now with those in-house regarding his fitness level and road to recovery will help define how seriously the Dolphins consider pushing him towards an early quarterback competition with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick.