Despite not having some of his key receivers available because of injury, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is looking at the problem as a way to help build a stronger connection with some of his other wideouts.
Tagovailoa is currently missing DeVante Parker, Will Fuller and Albert Wilson from the Dolphins’ receiving corps, but he is primarily unconcerned because of their veteran statuses.
“I don’t think it is a concern,” Tagovailoa said. “For me, I think the most important thing for them is their health, making sure that they’re right. Because if they’re not healthy, then that’s going to be a concern. We won’t have any of those guys to come out and play with.
“But it gives a lot of opportunity to the other guys, for me to get work with them, and for them also to experience a lot of the different looks, the coverages, whereas a lot of the veterans that are injured, they’ve seen a lot of that. We’re all still in the same room. We’re all still in the same meetings, communicating and talking through that, so I don’t think it’s a concern at all.”
One wide receiver who Tagovailoa continues to work with is top draft pick Jaylen Waddle. They have been able to strengthen their bond that first took hold when they played together for the University of Alabama.
Waddle is a player who will inject great speed into a Dolphins offense that needs it, so getting extra reps with Tagovailoa may help him develop more quickly into a deep threat.
For now, the absences of Parker, Fuller and Wilson is an afterthought since the Dolphins are merely in preparations for the 2021 campaign. If the trio returns by the start of the regular season on Sept. 12, their current absences will quickly be forgotten.
