Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa pushes back on arm strength criticism

MIAMI — Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is starting to let his guard down, head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters after the team's second day of mandatory minicamp Thursday.

Tagovailoa completed a pair of deep passes to wide receiver Tyreek Hill — for 45 and 55 yards — and made clear how he felt about the skepticism regarding his perceived arm strength.

«Yeah, if you've seen the third-to-the-last play we had — I don't know if I could throw the ball downfield still, but by my account, I think that might have been a touchdown to Tyreek,» he said after practice. «If not, then we scored two plays after that to Tyreek. So you know, however you want to write down any of that to social media or whatever outlets you guys are with.»

One of the primary criticisms levied against Tagovailoa since he entered the league in 2020 is his perceived ability to push the ball downfield; since his rookie season, he ranks 30th among qualified passers in average air yards per attempt at 7.13 yards.

However, Tagovailoa led the NFL in completion percentage on passes at least 25 yards downfield, completing 50% of them — but he attempted only 18 such passes, the second fewest in the league.

In an interview with Muscle & Fitness magazine this week, he claimed his lack of downfield passing was more of a result of playcalling than natural ability.

«I have seen some improvements on being able to push the ball down the field once again,» he said. «I honestly think it's just practice. I wasn't really able to push the ball down the field last year because we didn't have plays specifically to push the ball down the field. A lot of plays that were called last year were meant for one person. Either this person is open or the play might be dead.

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