A very uncharacteristic Tua Tagovailoa was short with the members of the media Tuesday as he discussed the progress of his negotiations on a new contract between the Miami Dolphins and the former Alabama standout.
Before Tagovailoa could answer questions about the contract status, a reporter asked him about what he was down to now as he has lost a lot of weight in the off season, a fact that Mike McDaniel did not miss when he pronounced Tagovailoa as being "svelte".
"I don't know. It's whatever I'm down to now."Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
After a few more questions about his new physique, the conversation with Tagovailoa then turned to his contract and the quarterback opened up and became more of the player and the person that South Florida has become accustomed to.
" I mean, I’m not blind to people that are in my position that are getting paid. Am I concerned about it? I’m not concerned about it, but there’s a lot of discussion that we’ve had that we just are trying to move that thing into the right direction where we can both be happy. My agent updates me, but for me, I don’t like updates every time. Like you don’t got to tell me the little things, just tell me things that matter. Are we getting to where we want to or are we not? That’s it."Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
Tagovailoa was asked if the protracted negotiations were getting to him and whether or not he was concerned. He took a long pause before responding.
"Not concerned. Concerned is not the right word. That’s way off from the word. Probably antsy."Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
One reporter even asked Tagovailoa if he was "pissed off" at the pace and status of the negotiations. Tagovailoa gave a very short, canned answer that showed that he is in fact, frustrated.
" I wouldn’t say pissed off. I mean, this is the nature of the beast, right? This is how it goes."Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
McDaniel was happy to see Tagovailoa at the minicamp, which is mandatory for players under existing contracts, but was unsure as to how much Tagovailoa was going to participate due to the player's fear of getting injured before a contract can be completed. Tagovailoa did not participate in any of the 11 on 11 or 7 on 7 team formats.
"I’ve seen him in the flesh today. We made great eye contact, had a nice little dap up in install. And then as far as everything else, as far as I know, we’re going to move forward in kind of a similar fashion that we had before where we’re going to have him out there and he’s going to be participating, but the depth and really across the board what he’s doing, that will be more up to him than anything. To me, the only way that I can do this job appropriately to everyone is honestly just worry about coaching people, and if they take these reps, they take these reps. If they don’t, somebody’s going to get better in that rep. So that stuff I haven’t really paid attention to, I’m not really too focused on."Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel
Tagovailoa is very familiar with some of the deals that other quarterbacks have received lately and wants to be included that group of highly paid signal-callers. The Detroit Lions recently signed quarterback Jared Goff to a deal worth an average annual value of $53 million a season. That is the neighborhood that Tagovailoa and his agents reportedly want to be living in.
Tagovailoa is under contract through this season and is set to play under a $23.17 million, fifth-year option if the two sides cannot come to terms on a lucrative extension. Tagovailoa threw for 4,624 yards last season and tossed 29 touchdowns in McDaniel's fast-paced high octane offense.