Tua Tagovailoa appears to be settling in as the Dolphins very well-paid franchise quarterback without missing a beat.
The Dolphins’ signal caller, who signed a 4-year, $212.4 million contract last month, got the start for Miami’s second preseason game against the Washington Commanders on Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium. It didn’t take long for him to show why the Dolphins put their money where their mouth was.
Tagovailoa capped off an 11-play, 61-yard drive with a perfect throw to River Cracraft for a 13-yard touchdown on fourth and 1. Tua lobbed the ball to the corner to Cracraft, who had a step on a fade route, and the ball landed in his arms in stride.
It was a perfect drive for Tagovailoa, who completed 5 of 5 passes for 51 yards. He connected with Cracraft twice for 29 yards. Right now, Cracraft is looking like a strong candidate for the WR3 job, particularly with Odell Beckham, Jr.’s time frame for a return looking continually cloudier as the preseason goes on.
That’s all the Dolphins would see of Tagovailoa in the game, but it’s hard to blame Mike McDaniel one bit there, given the horrendous history of injuries of this franchise over the last calendar year.