Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been nothing if not inconsistent so far in his sixth NFL season. He’s had his fair share of games where he’s looked like an elite quarterback — such as when he threw for four touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons — but those showings have arguably been overshadowed by a season-long struggle to take care of the ball.
Through 11 starts for the Dolphins, Tagovailoa has thrown 13 interceptions. That means he’s averaged more than one interception thrown per game, and he’s in a tie with Geno Smith for the most thrown by any one NFL player this season.
With the erratic level of play from game to game that Tagovailoa has given the Dolphins to this point, their quarterbacks coach, Darrell Bevell, did a good job of summing up his season in totality. He said the signal-caller has been “up and down” for the Dolphins.
“Up and down,” Bevell said of Tagovailoa’s season.
“He’s had good moments and not good moments. What we are trying to do is recapture what we’ve done in the years previous, 2022 and 2023, where he was playing well and at a consistent level.”
It’s not surprising at all that the Dolphins want to see Tagovailoa get back to playing at the level he was earlier on in the decade. Bevell probably mentioned the 2023 season specifically because it was arguably the quarterback’s best campaign in the NFL to date.
Not only did Tagovailoa lead the league in total passing yards that season with 4,624, but he suited up in every one of the Dolphins’ 17 contests and helped them to an impressive 11-6 regular-season record.
However, whether he can return to playing at that level with the Dolphins is up for debate. Maybe a change of scenery would be in the best interest of his NFL career, and there likely won’t be a shortage of teams in need of a talented quarterback following the end of this season.
It’s currently unclear what Tagovailoa’s future looks like in Miami, but he could improve it by leading the team to the playoffs. That outcome seems unlikely, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility, as the Dolphins are winners of three of their last four games played and are 4-7 on the season. They also have a very winnable game looming, as they will take on a 2-9 New Orleans Saints squad on Nov. 30.
