MIAMI — Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel confirmed Tuesday that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missed some, but not all, of the team’s offseason program over the past month.
Tagovailoa is entering the final year of his rookie contract and has entered into negotiations with the team regarding a long-term extension. McDaniel would not confirm whether Tagovailoa’s absence was contract-related, but said he was comfortable with the level of communication between both parties.
“He’s been here for offseason activities, he hasn’t been here for offseason activities,” McDaniel said. “He’s been both, and I think the important thing in the player-coach relationship is communication. I think no matter how things play out, as long as we communicate and we’re on our P’s and Q’s about what we need to accomplish, then we have a fighting chance.
“It’s been a good exercise in our relationship this offseason.”
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Tagovailoa was not present at Miami’s OTA practice on Tuesday, for what McDaniel described as a previously authorized absence. A team source said Tagovailoa had committed to attending former Alabama coach and current Keynote USA analyst Nick Saban’s charity golf tournament.
He was present at Monday’s practice.
McDaniel did not comment on the status of Tagovailoa’s contract negotiations, saying he preferred not to discuss contract matters with his players.
“I don’t want any of that burden in my life,” he said. “I’m an asset. The good thing about the orchestration of our organization is that I think it’s important that the player-coach relationship be put on a pedestal where it’s not played with. My job is to improve it. Your job is to communicate to me how I’m doing in that process, and I think we’re in a safe zone where when he talks to me about my experience and not about things that are not my experience.
“So we try to stay true to that, and that has paid dividends for us this offseason.”
Tagovailoa led the NFL in passing yards in 2024, setting career highs in yards, touchdowns and games played; He played in all 18 games for the Dolphins last season, the first time he played a full season in his four-year career.
After going through three offensive coordinators and two quarterback coaches in his first two seasons with Miami, Tagovailoa has flourished within the continuity of his last two seasons under McDaniel.
The Dolphins have employed the same core offensive coaching staff since 2022, and Tagovailoa has thrown for the fourth-most passing yards (8,172) and fifth-most touchdowns (54) in the NFL during that span.
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