The Miami Dolphins will likely report to training camp in South Beach here over the next week or so. Some things need to be worked out from both a pandemic and financial aspect. But the team is ready to go.
That includes rookie No. 5 overall pick, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The former Alabama standout likely won’t be limited after suffering a serious hip injury late in his final season with the Crimson Tide.
Tua Tagovailoa says he’s ready to go for camp
“I’d say I’m ready to go,” he told USA Today (h/t NFL Media). “It’s kind of those things where you start getting the itch to get back out on the field, to be able to compete. It’s going to be a new setting, so that’s what’s even more exciting.”
There was some thought given to the idea that Tua would have to sit out his entire rookie season after undergoing hip surgery. But once the 2020 NFL Draft approached in April, it became clear that he was way ahead of schedule.
Tagovailoa has also been helped by the fact that he’s been at the Dolphins’ facility to rehab and train when others were forced to remain away due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Could Tagovailoa be the Dolphins’ starter this season?
While the rookie was at Miami’s training facility throughout the offseason, he was not able to take part in non-existent team workouts. That has hampered all rookies during these most unusual of times.
Despite this, recent reports suggest that he could very well earn the QB1 job over Ryan Fitzpatrick. The youngster played it coy in response to a question about that possibility.
“I think the way I stay myself is, I just go out there and do whatever I can to help the team,” Tagovailoa said. “If helping the team looks like me being on the sideline and telling (Ryan Fitzpatrick) what I’ve seen, then that’s what it is. Or whoever the quarterback is out there.”
It’s certainly going to be interesting to see the young quarterback on the field during training camp.
And while there won’t be any preseason games, he will have a chance to prove himself to the Dolphins’ brass this summer.