He did not make a deep playoff run in the National Football League, but he proved his doubters he could stay healthy.
Tua Tagovailoa played a full regular season in 2023 for the first time in his career.
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The former first-round pick of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins missed multiple games in 2022 because of concussions. People were afraid of him constantly falling on his head and neck when taking hits. He became proactive after the 2022 season, taking judo and jiu-jitsu to learn how to avoid falling on his head. Tagovailoa made the lessons pay off as he became the NFL’s leader for passing yards (4,624) and tied for fifth in touchdown passes (29) in his third year as a starting quarterback.
His bounce back story earned him NFL Comeback Player of the Year from Sporting News. Tagovailoa’s peers voted him for the honor following his success with the Dolphins. The former Alabama quarterback is heading to his first career Pro Bowl.
The comeback was epic 💪
As voted on by his peers, @Tua has been named the @sportingnews Comeback Player of the Year! pic.twitter.com/6IQZT5rvHL
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) February 1, 2024
Tagovailoa and Mike McDaniel are continuing to work on building Miami into a Super Bowl team.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
