What to Make of Tua's 'Unique' Dolphins Comments

Former Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa made very clear Tuesday he was not satisfied with his level of performance in 2025, but he was a lot more cryptic about issues surrounding the team.

In an introductory Zoom media session with Atlanta Falcons reporters, Tagovailoa looked back at his final season with the Dolphins with some regret.

But he was mysterious in talking about some of the issues with the team.

"Yeah, you know, I don't want to get too much in depth with things that were going on, more so in terms of players to coaches than it was players to players," Tagovailoa said. "But it was unique, in a sense. It was unique."

Asked specifically in what way things were unique, Tua simply replied, "In a lot of ways" before laughing.

Interestingly, a couple of Falcons reporters asked about what went wrong the past two seasons and how Tagovailoa wanted to rebound from those two seasons, but he moved things to only 2025 every time.

To be clear, Tagovailoa had a good statistical season in 2024 when he led the NFL in completion percentage and topped the 100 mark in passer rating for a third consecutive year, though he and the offense clearly took a step back after he, Tyreek Hill, Jalen Ramsey and Jaylen Waddle all got new contracts that summer.

"If you're looking at last year, my play wasn't up to the standard of the way I've been playing football the past, what, three years since the new contract," Tua said. "So just got to play better football. That's what that that really means. There's no other way to sugarcoat that or go around that.

"I would say more so last year has been the biggest setback that I felt wasn't up to par of what the standard of play should have been."

The issue of Tagovailoa's health also came up, though his answer that he's doing well should have been predictable considering he did pass a physical before signing with the Falcons.

Interestingly, the question asked dealt with his history of concussions and not the hip issues that could prove a bigger problem moving foward.

"Injuries happen, those, those are things that we can't control as football players," Tua said. "But outside of that, the drive is there. I just think of the 12-year-old self, the 14-year-old self, 13-year-old self, what would that Tua say to the Tua now. I mean, it's a blessing for me to be in this position, in this opportunity that I have to be able to play for the Falcons and whatnot. But to be able to still live out my dream, that's not something that I take for granted.

"Went through all the protocols of what I needed to do for the Falcons. Everything came out good. Some things are looking way better than than the guys might have thought, so you either love it or you don't."

ANALYZING THE 'UNIQUE' COMMENTS

Tagovailoa certainly seemed to be taking a shot at former head coach Mike McDaniel, who once was his biggest supporter but who benched him after the Monday night loss at Pittsburgh that officially eliminated the Dolphins from playoff contention.

As it turned out, McDaniel joined Tagovailoa out the door as part of the housecleaning that brought in Jon-Eric Sullivan as GM and Jeff Hafley as head coach.

Sure, it's possible that Tua might have been referring to an assistant coach and not McDaniel, but let's just say it's not likely.

McDaniel's relationship with players has come under scrutiny several times already, starting with Jalen Ramsey's cryptic rotten orange image on Instagram last offseason and continuing with Raheem Mostert's recent comments about McDaniel not holding players accountable enough, a criticism that prompted a strong reply from former Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who said it was up to the players to be professional enough to handle their business.

In any event, it would have been nice for Tua to explain his "unique" comments once he opened that door, but he clearly figured it was time to close it.

And now he's looking ahead to his new chapter with the Falcons, focusing solely on this one season after he signed a one-year contract with Atlanta.

"I think the best thing with right now is making the best of this opportunity that I have with the team on my one year, and make the best out of that, in terms of the relationships I make with these guys," Tua said. "And then when I'm playing, I mean, I get to freaking play football, this is what I've dreamed of my entire life, you know. So regardless of what that looks like, I'm going to be present. I'm going to be in the moment. I'm going to be where my feet are, and that's how I would say I'd answer that.