The arduous rehabilitation of Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa took a huge step forward with news that he’s now ready for on-field activities.
“Tagovailoa is at an advanced stage of his recovery process from a severe hip injury he suffered last November, which became one of the biggest NFL storylines before the Dolphins selected him with fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft in April,” wrote Safid Deen of the Sun Sentinel.
“Tagovailoa has made significant progress and is ready for on-field activities if/when training camp begins.
“It’s just a matter of how much of a workload Tagovailoa can handle and how rapidly can he progress during the process.”
Tagovailoa was the Dolphins’ top pick in April’s NFL draft, despite having undergone major hip surgery last November that potentially put his 2020 season in doubt.
The rookie signal-caller out of the University of Alabama aggressively approached the rehabilitation process, which has helped speed up his timetable toward being fully recovered.
Now that Tagovailoa is allowed to take part in those on-field activities, the only remaining questions about his health relate to the amount of his workload and trajectory of his progress.
That workload involves such things as running the team’s offense during training camp and how well he can handle the torrid heat that’s part of every South Florida summer.
The fear is that Tagivailoa could be re-injured at some point during camp connected to issues like fatigue, setting him back after months of progress.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is expected to handle the starting quarterback role if Tagovailoa is deemed not quite ready to take controls of the Dolphins offense.
Having that security blanket in place helps reduce the pressure to put Tagovailoa into the lineup as quickly as possible. While the Dolphins have been discussed as possible playoff contenders, the reality is that they’re still a rebuilding team that’s coming off a 5-11 season.
With Tagovailoa’s status as the Dolphins’ quarterback of the future, the team wants to make sure that everything is in place for him to excel and being fully healthy will aid in that cause.
