Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa played alongside Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday, a quarterback who could have taken his place in 2022. Their joint practice coincides with the NFL stripping the Dolphins of two draft picks, including a first-round pick in 2023 after the team was found guilty of tampering with Brady’s recruitment in 2019 and 2021.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m still here,” Tagovailoa said when asked about training with the seven-time Super Bowl champion and the Buccaneers. “To me, that’s all noise at this point.”
The two quarterbacks appeared to be talking. They discussed their activities during the offseason such as golfing.
“We were talking on the side for a good bit,” Tagovailoa said. “He asked me how my offseason was. We were talking a little about golf at the same time.”
Tagovailoa also said that he asked Brady for football advice, but he did not provide any further details.
“For the most part, 23 years playing, that’s a long time, that’s a lot of knowledge so I was asking him some things and he gave me some good insight,” Tagovailoa said to Tampa Bay Times. “But I’ll keep that between me and Tom. And if you guys want to ask Tom, go ask him.”
Like his quarterback, first-year Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel also did not place any emphasis on what occurred between the team and the quarterback years ago.
“For me, nothing happened. Everyone else is the one making it awkward,” McDaniel told reporters. “It doesn’t occupy a single iota of space with anybody. It’s hard enough to be good in this league.”
“As the Miami Dolphins, all of our energy is very coordinated and only has to do with us getting better and everything else would be an opportunity cost that we’re not willing to expend.”
Dolphins tampering Brady
Following a six-month investigation, NFL revealed earlier this month that the Dolphins had unauthorized conversations with Brady and New Orleans Saints Sean Payton’s agent about their head coaching job.
Stephen Ross, the owner, was also fined $1.5 million and suspended until Oct. 17. During that time, he is not permitted to visit the Dolphins’ facility or participate in any team events. He is also barred from attending any league meetings prior to the 2023 annual meeting.
Bruce Beal, the Dolphins’ vice chairman and limited partner, was fined $500,000 and will be barred from attending league meetings for the entire 2022 season.
Brady, on the other hand, will face no repercussions as a result of the Dolphins’ tampering. He was also unavailable to the media on Wednesday and has made no public comments about the tampering incidents.
Wednesday’s joint practice
The Dolphins’ offense and defense worked on adjacent fields for nearly two hours Wednesday morning at the AdventHealth Training Center, going head-to-head with opposing Buccaneers units.
Defensive linemen Zach Sieler and Emmanuel Ogbah were seen “sacking” Brady on multiple occasions, while third-year safety Brandon Jones made solid contact with Buccaneer receivers and ball-carriers several times.
“We’ve got to go out there and be dominant,” Ogbah said Wednesday.
Consider that Brady and the Bucs thrashed the Dolphins 45-17 in Tampa last season. Brady threw for 411 yards and five touchdowns on Wednesday
In joint practice, however, almost all of the focus was on Tagovailoa taking over for Connor Williams and firing passes to Tyreek Hill. Tampa’s offensive line struggled, with three interior absences due to injury or retirement.
The Dolphins and Buccaneers will practice together again tomorrow before meeting at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday for each team’s first preseason game of the year.