Omar Kelly: Question Tua's durability, not his competitive nature

Omar Kelly, Miami Herald on Dec 29, 2024

Published in Football

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CLEVELAND -- Josh Allen would never.

Patrick Mahomes wouldn’t dare.

That was the running sentiment about the Miami Dolphins playing what amounts to a playoff elimination game on Sunday — and maybe even next week — without the team’s franchise quarterback.

But what if the quarterback didn’t have a choice?

Some people are acting like Tua Tagovailoa intentionally skipped Sunday’s 20-3 victory against the Cleveland Browns because he didn’t feel like playing, or was afraid of how he would perform on a rainy Cleveland day.

Let’s put those narratives to rest.

“He wasn’t physically [cleared],” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said about Tagovailoa’s hip injury, which Miami’s fifth-year starter sustained two weeks ago in the loss to Houston, and was worsened by a hit he took in last Sunday’s win against the San Francisco 49ers.

“He not only was super susceptible to a major injury if he were to fall in harm’s way. But a major factor was the lack of strength due to the injury, and his inability to protect himself,” McDaniel clarified, explaining why Tagovailoa was forced to sit out his fifth game of the 2024 season.

“Tua did tell me on Thursday ‘They are going to have to pull me out the game, I’m playing,’ ” defensive lineman Calais Campbell said. “Friday you can tell [something was up] because he didn’t really have a lot of reps, and he’s a guy who likes to take his reps.”

The Dolphins prolonged the decision whether play Tagovailoa as long as they could, hoping that the soreness he was experiencing — and downplayed all week — would subside, and the movement would improve. But they also prepared for the worst-case scenario.

Tyler “Snoop” Huntley, who typically gets a handful of 11-on-11 reps with the starters per week, got significantly more involved in practice last week.

The coaches came up with two game plans, one specifically catered to Huntley, and the former Pro Bowler produced his best game in years, completing 22 of 26 passes for 225 yards with one touchdown (115.5 passer rating), and leading the team with 52 rushing yards and one touchdown on seven carries.`

“Tua did a good job of taking his reps and then he’d talk me through my reps,” said Huntley, whose record improved to 2-2 as Miami’s starter this season. “It was a good week of work.”

One that the Dolphins and Huntley might need to repeat for the regular season’s final against the New York Jets because the Dolphins have no idea if Tagovailoa’s hip injury will allow him to play in six or seven days.

“Today’s game showed he can throw the ball on time, read defenses and also make plays with his feet,” receiver Tyreek Hill said about Huntley, whom he caught all nine of his passes from, and turned those receptions into 105 yards. “At halftime he talked to the whole offense and told us to pick it up a notch, and that shows the growth.”

Since beginning the season 2-6 these Dolphins have rebounded to go 6-2 heading into the regular season finale, and Miami still has a chance to reach the postseason.

If the Dolphins can win that game, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos, Miami will secure the final AFC wild card spot.

The Dolphins clearly have a better chance to beat the Jets with Tagovailoa at the helm. However, we could be looking at another week where it’s necessary to think of the big picture instead of temporary gratification.

Miami can’t afford to shorten Tagovailoa’s career trying to win one game, which could deliver the franchise’s fifth consecutive winning season.

So what if the fragile reputation Tagovailoa gained has more roots because of this hip, which McDaniel stressed is different than the one that ended his collegiate career at Alabama prematurely, and had him taken off more than half a dozen team’s boards in the 2020 Draft due to medical concerns.

And the narrative about Tagovailoa not being able to beat a playoff contender remains valid because of how he has performed in critical games in his five seasons as an NFL starter.

My issue is with this fable about Tagovailoa not being a competitor, mailing it in, quitting on his team.

That’s fiction, and likely fueled by those who continue their agenda of discrediting the quarterback this franchise proposed to this past offseason with his five-year, $235.5 million deal, or which $167 million is guaranteed.

“Tua is a rare competitor,” Hill said. “He understood what was at stake. He wanted to play…..You have to force him off the field and it was basically a staff saving a player from [himself].”