DAVIE, Fla. – Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa received a vote of confidence from the team’s General Manager on Tuesday.
Chris Grier said, “Tua we’re very happy with. He’s our starting quarterback. He did a nice job this year coming in with no offseason and the challenges of dealing with all that. Very happy with him. Looking forward to watching him progress with an offseason... For us, not talking draft strategy, the season just ended. We’re just going through our process.”
Recommended Videos
Grier said that Tagovailoa and the training staff worked hard to get him ready following hip surgery.
When asked about the need for dynamic wide receivers, Grier said that competition makes the roster better and they want to improve in all areas.
Grier said, “It’s every position. It makes everyone great. History has shown, it doesn’t matter who it is. You’re always looking for guys who fit your system that push people and make them better.”
Grier added, “We want to be clear that Tua is our starter and we’re very happy with his development so far.”
Head Coach Brian Flores said that he expects to have his full staff return.
Flores added that he hoped he didn’t jinx anything because last offseason he lost two assistant coaches to other teams.
Flores was asked about the possible return of Ryan Fitzpatrick, he said the team needs to go through a full evaluation and then they’ll figure out what they want the team to look like next season.
Flores said, “We’re not going to rush anything, we’re going to take our time with it... Those decisions or even... we’re not going to sit here and say we want to do this, that, or the other.”
On Tua, Flores said, “I think the communication improves over time... I think people are more comfortable as they gain experience. So, it’s like any relationship, it improves with time. That’s the vision right now.”
Grier said he was not going to talk draft strategy. He said the next few weeks will be evaluating the team and self-scouting.
On the draft, “We’ll start dealing with that once the Senior Bowl rolls around... We’re excited to have the picks we have... But most of the players haven’t declared yet. We’re excited for the future here and what we can do for ‘21.”
Grier was asked if he should receive consideration for General Manager of the year.
Instead, he differed and said that Brian Flores is the coach of the year.
Grier said that Flores hates when he says it, but everything that Flores did, with a young roster and no offseason was worthy of the honor.