The Miami Dolphins signed star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a four-year, $212.4 million contract last season. Shortly after, Miami inked veteran receiver Willie Snead off the NFL free agent market.
Sleuths on social media did their thing after it was noted Snead and Tua would be teammates this coming season.
A post from this past January Snead made on X (previously Twitter) has resurfaced. On his since-deleted account, the veteran called Tua soft during their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL Playoffs.
“The Dolphins will be good when Tua stop acting soft AF,” Snead wrote.
Talk about things being a bit awkward, right?
This was not lost on Snead as he made his way to the Dolphins.
“Yeah, to be honest, I was watching the game. A fan of the game. I was rooting for the Dolphins that game. I wanted the Dolphins to get past the Chiefs. I was emotional about it, and I tweeted something about it I probably shouldn’t have, and I regret it today. Me and Tua talked last night, working on a handshake. We already completed one pass in one-on-ones,” Snead on his post about Tua Tagovailoa, via Chris Perkins of the Sun-Sentinel. “We put that behind us. We kind of talked about it, and we’re moving on from it.”
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Miami Dolphins star Tua Tagovailoa can expect criticism after signing contract extension
Tua’s new deal makes him the fourth highest-paid quarterback in the NFL on a per-year basis. It also comes after Miami was blown out by Kansas City in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs by the score of 26-7 this past January.
Being the face of a franchise with Super Bowl aspirations will put a lot of pressure on you. That’s magnified after signing the richest contract in Dolphins franchise history.
It’s good that Snead and Tua hashed things out. But criticism is not going to end here if the Dolphins fall short of their playoff goals.
- Tua Tagovailoa stats (2023): 69.3% completion, 4,624 yards, 29 TD, 14 INT
Tagovailoa has a whole plethora of weapons to work with, including star receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Excuses won’t work. It’s time for him to elevate this team. Miami paid Tua to be a franchise cornerstone. It’s that simple.