Tua Tagovailoa Parents: Meet Galu and Diane Tagovailoa
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Prior to his season-ending injury, which made LSU quarterback and 2019 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow the top prospect in the draft, Tagovailoa was expected to go first overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Tagovailoa was also the first left-handed quarterback to be picked by an NFL team since Tim Tebow in 2010. Tagovailoa opted to don number one because the Dolphins retired his college jersey number 13 in memory of Dan Marino.
On May 11, 2020, Tagovailoa inked a $30 million, four-year rookie deal. However, Ryan Fitzpatrick was chosen as his backup to begin the season after he cleared his physical with the organization in July 2020 to start training camp.
In a Week 6 game against the New York Jets, Tagovailoa made his professional debut, taking over for Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter of a 24-0 victory and completing two of his three passes for nine yards. Since Kellen Moore in 2015, his NFL debut marked the first for a left-handed quarterback.
The Dolphins defeated the rival Patriots in Week 1 under Tagovailoa’s leadership. Early in the game against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 Tagovailoa suffered a rib injury; he was taken off the field on a motorized stretcher and did not return.
Later, it was determined that Tagovailoa had fractured many ribs, and he was ruled out of the Dolphins’ Week 3 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores was sacked in the offseason before the 2022 campaign over disagreements with internal communication. A few weeks later, a number of sources revealed that Tagovailoa and Flores had disagreements, with rumors of heated discussions between them.
In his first game of the year, Tagovailoa defeated the New England Patriots 20–7 while tossing for 270 yards and a touchdown, increasing his record against Bill Belichick and the Patriots to 4–0. The next week, in the 42–38 comeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens, Tagovailoa threw for a career-high 469 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Tagovailoa briefly exited Week 3’s game against the Buffalo Bills due to what the Dolphins said was a back ailment, but he soon returned, finishing with 186 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Tagovailoa was declared out of the concussion protocol on October 15 but did not play for the Dolphins against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6. On Sunday Night Football in Week 7’s 16-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tagovailoa made his Sunday Night Football comeback. He completed 261 passes for 261 yards and a score.
The Dolphins secured the final AFC playoff spot on January 9, their first since 2016. Mike McDaniel, the head coach, stated on January 11 that Tagovailoa has not been cleared to return to practice since he underwent the concussion protocol a second time and was out for his third straight game.
Marcus Vance is a cybersecurity auditor and technology writer dedicated to educating the public about online safety, data privacy regulations, enterprise security, and emerging cyber threats.
