Tyreek Hill: 2022 Is Tua Tagovailoa’s ‘Last Year’ to Prove Himself

Since being selected No. 5 overall in the 2020 NFL draft, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has dealt with a lot of criticism in the two seasons he’s played.

Injuries clouded both seasons, causing him to play in just 23 games (21 starts) over the last two seasons. He also hasn’t taken the team to the postseason yet.

Tagovailoa’s new star wide receiver Tyreek Hill defended his quarterback, once again, on his podcast It Needed To Be Said this week while sitting down with his teammate Jaylen Waddle.

Hill thinks that the upcoming 2022 season will be a big year for the quarterback.

“It’s gonna be a lot of people taking their words back on what they said about [Tua],” Hill said. “Reporters, analysts, Twitter trolls. All those people are gonna take their words back on what they said about [Tua]. I’m gonna be sitting there, eating my popcorn.”

This year specifically marks Tagovailoa’s third in the NFL, and most won’t see him as a “new” quarterback after this season. Hill thinks this is why this upcoming season is so crucial for the quarterback.

“You know, in the NFL they only give you like two or three years to be a successful quarterback, especially if you’re a first-round draft pick,” Hill said. “And if you don’t succeed after those years, then it’s kick rocks, man. So, basically, they’re going to put Tua into that. So this is basically his last year, man, just to show people what he’s got.”

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The former Chiefs receiver also mentioned the slow motion passing video the Dolphins posted of Tagovailoa throwing to Hill back in May. The video drew a lot of criticism as people said the quarterback under threw the six-time Pro Bowler. Hill defended the clip, stating that the team posted the video on purpose to get people talking. If that’s the case, it worked.

“I really believe they showed that clip of Tua under throwing me just to get people talking,” Hill said. “Because they really know what Tua’s capable of, for real.”

The Dolphins finished 9–8 last season, landing in third in the AFC East.

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