Tua Tagovailoa has been a limited participant at Dolphins training camp amidst contract negotiations.
To be clear, Tagovailoa’s “limited” day in practice came on Wednesday, when he took only a handful of snaps. On Thursday, the Dolphins’ signal-caller sat entirely. Local media, along with head coach Mike McDaniel, have already acknowledged Tagovailoa’s hold-in, with McDaniel saying, “I can’t put a ton of time thinking about that scenario,” as he prepares his team for the upcoming season. Miami’s offensive struggles in camp were well-documented on Thursday, with right tackle Austin Jackson saying, “We miss Tua,” when asked about how his absence has impacted the offense on the field. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported earlier that the Dolphins “want to pay” Tagovailoa, but there could be a stark difference between what he hopes to earn and what the team is willing to pay. It seems inevitable that a deal will get done at some point, but the current state of the quarterback market will likely force the Dolphins to pay Tua near top-five money. We’ll see how much longer this goes on, but further offensive struggles by the team in camp could help expedite the process.