Tagovailoa had a tough day at minicamp, but Flores wants him to keep pushing
The Miami Dolphins practiced amid a torrential downpour on Tuesday, and it affected the play of second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft threw five interceptions during the minicamp session, as head coach Brian Flores continuously pushed Tagovailoa to get the ball downfield despite the harsh conditions, according to Adam Beasley of The Miami Herald.
No one wants to see their quarterback throw multiple interceptions in one minicamp practice, but Flores told reporters that he wants his signal-caller to remain aggressive.
"I don't think Tua's going to go into a shell," Flores said, via The Miami Herald. "I tell him [after a practice like that] to continue being aggressive. The conversations are a lot of what we've already talked about here -- use this time to practice pushing the ball downfield. Then we'll make the adjustments and the corrections."
Tagovailoa was inserted into the starting lineup in Week 8 last season, and won his first three games. He went 6-3 as the starter, and threw for 1,814 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. There were times where Flores opted to bench Tagovailoa for Ryan Fitzpatrick if the offense became too stagnant, but with him now quarterbacking for Washington, Tagovailoa is the unquestioned starter.
Coach Flores understands that this is the time to make mistakes. And as Beasley points out, it does seem like Flores was pushing his quarterback to make those tough throws downfield and into tight windows while playing in severe weather. It's not something to overreact to, as the Dolphins will continue to make Tagovailoa uncomfortable, and teach him to play through adversity before the throws actually start to matter.
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