Tua Tagovailoa makes first appearance at Dolphins facility

Omar Kelly of South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that Tua Tagovailoa made his first appearance at the Dolphins’ facility in Davie on Monday. It’s the first look the team has been able to get of its franchise quarterback since drafting him on April 23. Tagovailoa is allowed at Miami’s headquarters because the rookie is still recovering from the brutal hip injury that ended his final college season at Alabama.

Despite sustaining an injury that may have caused Tagovailoa to still be available with the fifth pick, the quarterback’s physical therapist Kevin Wilk gave some great news to the Dolphins and its fans last week.

“He’s doing miraculously well,” Wilk told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “The miraculous part is that he healed so well. The second part is, he’s been so well at getting his strength back, which usually takes a long time after something like this.”

Tagovailoa’s ability to train within the facilities allows Miami’s coaching staff to work with the quarterback as they try to figure out the most important variable of Miami’s 2020 season: when Tagovailoa will actually make his debut on the field.

Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report said coaches he talked to deemed it a ‘foregone conclusion’ that Tagovailoa would beat out Ryan Fitzpatrick for the starting job before Miami even travels to New England on September 13.

With that date still roughly three months away, it’s hard to imagine any decisions are even close to being made. To start Miami’s quarterback of the future that early might induce more risk than it does reward.

But with Tagovailoa officially in Davie working with Dolphins coaches, it gives the team an earlier and more transparent look at their quarterback than they otherwise would if Tagovailoa was not recovering from an injury.