Tua Tagovailoa’s ex-trainer agrees that QB could thrive away from Dolphins

Questions may be growing when it comes to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s Miami Dolphins tenure. After his first five seasons in Miami were a roller coaster, he’s probably playing some of the worst football of his NFL career so far in the 2025 campaign.

But NFL analyst Mike Florio believes that if the Dolphins were to move on from the signal-caller, he could thrive in a new situation, and Tagovailoa’s former trainer Nick Hicks wrote in a post on X that he agrees with Florio “to the max.”

Tagovailoa has thrown seven interceptions in Miami’s first six games of the season, meaning he’s averaging more than one pick per contest. He’s also on the heels of doing a woeful job of taking care of the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 6, as he threw a season-high three interceptions.

However, most importantly, the Dolphins have a miserable 1-5 record in the games he’s started. In every one of his opening five seasons in the league, he had a winning record as a starter. The 1-5 record this season certainly doesn’t fall entirely on his shoulders, but his play hasn’t helped.

Still, for as much of a somber story as his stats this season tell, his success in the past might have some teams optimistic that he’s a change of scenery away from being a great quarterback again.

After all, Tagovailoa put together some really impressive seasons earlier in his Dolphins tenure. He isn’t all that far removed from leading the NFL in total passing yards, as he tallied a whopping 4,624 across 17 starts in the 2023 season to lead the league. He helped the Dolphins to an 11-6 record in the process.

The 27-year-old has also ranked tops in the league in completion percentage, passer rating and other categories during different points of his pro career.

If Tagovailoa does indeed eventually end up somewhere new, hopefully Florio and Hicks will be right about the quarterback having a memorable second act of his career. Miami would have to trade him sooner rather than later if it wanted to move him this season, as the trade deadline is coming up on the horizon on Nov. 4.

But the Dolphins’ top preference, of course, would likely be to enjoy success with Tagovailoa themselves, something that could still be in the cards.