Miami Dolphins starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has said that he believes his team is “all-in” with him in light of the recent tampering scandal involving owner Stephen Ross.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday during a break in training camp, the 24-year-old quarterback said he could not talk about the matter since the scandal took place in 2019 before he joined the team. He also claimed not to know what had happened and only found out through the news.
The NFL previously announced punitive measures taken against the Dolphins on Tuesday. As a result of the scandal, the team will lose its draft picks for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Furthermore, Ross has been suspended until October 17.
Aside from the suspension, he has also been removed from NFL committees indefinitely, as well as forbidden from attending any league meeting until 2023 and slapped with a $1.5 million fine.
The announcement came as a result of a six-month investigation led by former U.S. Attorney and SEC chairperson Mary Jo White. The investigation found that the Dolphins violated league policies regarding the integrity of the game. Specifically, in 2019-2020 the team committed “impermissible communications” with quarterback Tom Brady, who at the time was playing for the New England Patriots.
Later in 2021, the team committed the same offense when Brady was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called the violations “unprecedented” in scope and severity.
Tagovailoa’s uncertain position
The fact that the Dolphins’ owner went to such lengths to secure Brady, considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL, came as a blow to the third-year quarterback.
To add insult to injury, the team’s second attempt at luring Brady took place in 2021, when the team went through a seven-win streak under Tagovailoa’s leadership. In addition, in early 2021, there were rumors that the Dolphins’ wanted to trade him for Deshaun Watson, who at the time was playing for the Houston Texans.
There have been talks that Ross and Brian Flores, the team’s former coach, were not satisfied with his performance and were having doubts about Tagovailoa’s future on the team. The result of the investigation seems to confirm the suspicions.
As the fifth-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, there were high expectations for Tagovailoa. His performance so far, however, has not yet lived up to them. He struggled with a hip injury from his time at Alabama Crimson Tide, although recent reports said he has finally recovered.
In his two years with the team, he managed 4,467 passing yards and 27 touchdowns. His record as a starter is 13-8. Compared to other quarterbacks from the same draft, his performance was mediocre.
So far, Tagovailoa has performed pretty well during the Dolphins’ training camp, which began this week. The team has also brought in receiver Tyreek Hill, which should give the quarterback another tool in his arsenal for success. He also has the support of the team’s new coach, Mike McDaniel, both publicly and privately. In June, the coach expressed his excitement about Tagovailoa’s performance during a minicamp session.