Tua Tagovailoa had a middling rookie year.
He finished the season completing 64.1 percent of his passes for 1,814 yards with 11 touchdowns and five picks, with the Dolphins going 6-3 in games he started.
But on a pair of occasions, Tagovailoa got pulled mid-game for Ryan Fitzpatrick. The veteran led the Dolphins to a comeback win over the Raiders in Week 16.
In an interview with PFT Live, Tagovailoa acknowledged he was working under the same conditions as every other rookie in the unique 2020 season. That’s part of why he told Mike Florio and Chris Simms there’s clearly room for improvement.
“All of us rookies this past year have been given the same slate — we’ve all been given a clean slate,” Tagovailoa said. “Some of us made the best of our opportunities and some of us didn’t. And I’d say I need to do a better job making good use of my opportunity.”
Tagovailoa said he’s working on his pre-snap reads to see the field better as he enters Year 2. And when it comes to his hip, he’s feeling healthy heading into 2021.
“I’d say physically and mentally, I’m back,” Tagovailoa said. “I think it’s a continuing process of stretching, strengthening the parts around the hip, and just continuing to get better, stronger, faster. And hoping to be a lot better this upcoming season.”
And as for those pesky trade rumors involving Deshaun Watson?
“In anything that goes around, I can control what I can control,” Tagovailoa said. “My focus is just trying to get better with this Year 1 to Year 2 jump, and trying to be the best version of me that I can be for the Miami Dolphins.”