On Thursday night, the Miami Dolphins took a risk that many analysts predicted and chose Alabama quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa to be the next man behind center.
Within 12 hours of being chose, the former Alabama front man has now had details of his Dolphins contract leaked, and it’s safe to say his celebration will be continuing.
According to Sportrac, the Fins are signing Tua to a four-year contract worth $30.2 million, as well as a $19.5 million signing bonus. This makes the rookie the 25th highest average paid QB in the league with $7.55 million per year.
Tagavailoa was the second QB off the board behind LSU QB and heisman winner, Joe Burrow.
Analysts and fans alike were concerned about the injury history of the Alabama QB, paying close attention to the high ankle sprains that he racked up in 2018 and 2019. Not to mention the broken right knee and of course, the hip injury that cut his season short.
Aside from the concern about injuries, many believe he has the most raw talent in the draft and could translate his skill quickly to the NFL.
Legendary Rams QB Kurt Warner gave his thoughts on the now rookie Dolphins quarterback, saying, “It’s interesting that when he suffered this injury, a lot of people going into the draft thought, ‘Well, he’s going to have a redshirt year anyways. Even if we draft him, we’re going to sit him for a year.”
He continued discussing the change of thought after his pro day and combine workouts.
“I think when people saw that workout, they said to themselves, ‘Well, maybe not.’ He looks really good, he looks explosive. Those are things he was built on in college. The quickness of his feet, the ability to redirect his feet, to buy time in the pocket, I think we all loved what we saw in that video.”
Tua’s original claim to fame was his game winning drive in the 2017 national championship. After longtime Alabama QB Jalen Hurts decided to move on and transfer to OU, Tagavailoa stepped in and threw for four yards short of 4,000 and 43 touchdowns his second year. Before the hip injury in his junior season, Tua had thrown for 2,840 yards and 33 touchdowns.
On Thursday, the Dolphins added on USC lineman Austin Jackson to continue sharpening a new, young Miami front line.
