Through gruesome injuries, dubious rumors and who knows how many nagging doubts, the Miami Dolphins stood by their man and, now, Tua Tagovailoa is vowing to produce for them.
“My biggest thing is I’m trying to prove this is the right decision for the organization,” the former Saint Louis School and University of Alabama quarterback resolutely told reporters after the Dolphins made him the fifth overall pick in Thursday’s first round of the inaugural virtual NFL Draft.
Tagovailoa thanked Miami owner Stephen Ross, general manager Chris Grier and coach Brian Flores, “For giving me this opportunity and believing in me and taking a chance on (me).”
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As gambles go, it was approximately a $30.2 million (including a $19 million bonus) roll of the dice over four years, the amount the fifth slot in the draft is expected to fetch when contracts are signed, according to OvertheCap.com.
Among Hawaii-bred players, only Marcus Mariota, who was the second overall pick of the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft, went higher.
The presumptive No. 1 pick in the draft just six months ago, Tua’s stock appeared to be as battered and bloodied as he was while being carted off the field Nov. 16 at Mississippi State, where he suffered a concussion, broken nose, dislocated right hip and fractured posterior wall.
South Florida faithful had pinned their hopes of reviving the team’s fortunes on 2020, said to be the biggest draft for the franchise in 20 years and one in which the centerpiece was a #TankforTua campaign as part of three first-round picks and an NFL record-tying 14 selections overall.
What they desperately needed was a franchise quarterback.
The Dolphins have had 21 starting quarterbacks since Hall of Famer Dan Marino authored his last pass in 1999 and very little to show for it over the intervening decades and 37-year old Ryan Fitzpatrick as the incumbent.
Foremost on that shopping list was securing a dynamic quarterback and Tagovailoa, viewed as a potential generational player at the position, was clearly their man, until he went down. Then, his screams of pain were almost matched by the fears of the Dolphin diehards.
Miami’s position was made more precarious by a history of previous injuries (both ankles, a wrist and knee) and the fact that, after the hip surgery, Tagovailoa wasn’t healthy enough to do a workout at the NFL Combine in February. Then came COVID-19 restrictions that canceled his pro day, face-to-face workouts and made the process of medical evaluation more complicated.
The Dolphins had little more than occasional video glimpses of his training in the final weeks, the word of his trainers and agents and an independent doctor’s report to go on.
All the while, even into draft day, rumors swirled about allegedly failed physicals, undisclosed previous injuries and the prospects of other teams moving up in the draft order. Meanwhile, the stock of Oregon’s Justin Herbert soared after his Senior Bowl performance.
On draft day, Tagovailoa, attired in a three piece suit with a bright, bolder liner, and his family prayed with a pastor, according to an Instagram post.
Tagovailoa watched the draft with his family from a home in Alabaster, Ala., as commissioner Roger Goodell shakily pronounced the pick from his basement in Bronxville, N.Y.
But none of that mattered as Tagovailoa thanked his family and reflected. “It has been a journey. It has been a tough one, especially going through a lot of adversity. But it is really good. It is cool that I know where I’m going to be now. I’m really excited.”
Tagovailoa maintained in a conference call with Miami reporters, “I didn’t get nervous at all for me and my family. The biggest thing was whoever decided to take a chance on me was where I belonged.”
And, now he is determined to go about rewarding the Dolphins for that enduring faith.
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Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
