You've probably heard this before, but the Miami Dolphins are only going to go as far as quarterback Tua Tagovailoa can take them. And one of the big questions lingering going into this season is how well Tagovailoa can protect himself to stay on the field. It's a complicating factor that makes the Dolphins a difficult team to project, as Miami has endured interruptions to their starting quarterback in every season but one with Tagovailoa at the helm. 

The nature of Tagovailoa's 2024 injuries are particularly frustrating, as both the concussion he suffered in Week 2 and the hip injury he endured versus Houston Week 15 before ultimately missing the final two games were preventable plays. On Tagovailoa's concussion, he chose to lower his head and challenge Bills safety Damar Hamlin at the sticks. The scramble against Houston was early in the game and Tagovailoa took a heavy hit on his hip while running outside of the structure of the play. 

When asked about the play against Houston the following week, Tagovailoa conceded he should have thrown the ball underneath to tight end Jonnu Smith before flashing a smile and shrugging. 

"In the heat of the moment, just competitive greatness, trying to see if I could get it. That was it," he admitted. The injury would be aggravated against San Francisco and Tagovailoa was relegated to the sideline for the remainder of the season. 

The year before, in 2023, Tagovailoa was able to stay healthy all season. The Dolphins quarterback did so by walking the delicate tightrope balance of avoiding hits and mainly staying inside the structure of the play. He was, of course, playing with the focus of earning a contract extension that season. The Dolphins gave it to him and Tagovailoa promptly played a little looser outside of structure with a new contract in hand. 

They'll need him to return to his prior form and mentality again in 2025. He's capable of harnessing a disciplined style in the pocket and there are a number of jobs that may be riding on his ability to stay committed to it all year.

Those jobs include not only his own but that of head coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier. Both have given direct messages through the media this winter and spring to their quarterback that he's of no good to them on the sidelines — especially when the wounds are self-inflicted.

"To see where (Tua)'s come from, from his early time here was impressive. That being said, he needs to be available. He needs to know how to protect himself. You’re going to get hit at times, it’s always going to happen, but he needs to control what he can control. He understands that. Not being available for taking chances and risk is unacceptable to us, and he knows that.” – Dolphins general manager Chris Grier at the team's exit interview after Week 18 loss to Jets

Tagovailoa said the right things today in his first media availability since the week of the Jets game back in January. He seemed sincere in offering a similar message to what his coach and general manager have been impressing through the media over the past several months. Whether or not he'll show the restraint necessary to execute across the entirety of the 2025 season is yet to be seen. But at the very least Tagovailoa has received the message. 

"Doing everything I can to stay available for the guys. Like I've said before, in the past, nothing changes with that. It's knowing when is the time to give up on a play, and I would say the longevity for me to be on the field with my guys is more important than whatever that one play is. You have more quarters then there would be just within that one play that I'm trying to show the guys that I'm competitive and whatnot. And I know they know that, but it's just a nature thing. It just comes natural to me to compete in that sense and that's just the thing I fight with." – Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa 

Tagovailoa has attacked each and every offseason with intentional work during his time with the Dolphins. In 2023, it was bulking up and learning how to fall. The application of that work saw him play all 18 games for the Dolphins. 2024's focus was getting leaner, more agile and opening up the ability to put more value in his outside of structure play. 

If he's indeed sincere about the judgement of cutting plays off and controlling what he can control to mitigate hits, the Dolphins have hope. He'll have to fight his second nature to achieve the feat. There's no shame, for what it's worth, in avoiding hits. Several of the game's greats have killed plays and avoided contact. That includes Tom Brady spiking balls into the ground or Peyton Manning dropping in a collapsing pocket to give himself up. 

Tagovailoa's warrior mentality can only take him so far and he doesn't have the same luxury others do to throw their bodies around with reckless abandon. It's now or never for Tagovailoa to embrace the realities of his nature as a player — and hopefully the threat of the Dolphins shaking up their foundation upon another absence and disappointing season can help him play with the judgement needed. 

If not? Things could look vastly different for the Dolphins in 2026, including at general manager, head coach, and quarterback. 

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