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The Miami Dolphins lost to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 6 of the NFL season, and after the game, Tua Tagovailoa, a team captain and the team's quarterback, called out players for skipping or showing up late to player-only meetings.
Ahead of the Dolphins' Week 7 matchup against the Cleveland Browns, in a matchup featuring two left-handed quarterbacks for the first time since 2006, Tagovailoa spoke in front of reporters for the first time, and he cleared the air on his comments.
Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN shared Tagovailoa's comments at Wednesday's press conference. There, the Dolphins quarterback apologized for his postgame comments after the Week 6 loss, owning up to his mistake.
Tua Tagovailoa apologizes for the comments he made after the Dolphins' Week 6 loss
"I made a mistake, and I'm owning up to that right now." Tagovailoa said. "I've talked to guys on the team about it. I've talked to leaders about it. They know my heart; they know that the intent was right. But no matter the intent, the intent can be right, but when things get misconstrued or however the media wants to portray it, that leaves a void of silence and a lot of questions for the guys on our team."
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa apologizes for his comments after Sunday’s game:
“I made a mistake … We talk a lot about ‘we gotta get this going,’ come in excited for work and forget about the noise — and I feel like I just added on to that for our guys.” pic.twitter.com/lmQsZY0vFU
The comments Tagovailoa made after the Week 6 loss didn't sit right with a lot of players on he team, and head coach Mike McDaniel also came forward to denounce those comments.
Tagovailoa said that players were late to and skipping players-only meetings in the weeks leading up to their Week 6 loss. Those comments irked the Dolphins, and now, Tagovailoa is apologizing for what he said after the Week 6 loss.
"Now, being 1-5, we talk a lot about, 'alright, we gotta get this going, we gotta get this going, come in, excited to go to work, forget about the noise.' And I feel like I just added onto that for our guys. For myself, I gotta look at myself as a leader, protecting the team, I don't feel like I did that to the best of my abilities. I feel like I let the emotions of the game get to me after the game, and that's something I can learn from as a leader on this team. What happens in the house should be protected; none of that should have gotten out."
There's been plenty of discord in Miami already this season, both with the hot-seat rumors surrounding McDaniel, the trade rumors surrounding a few of the Dolphins' stars, and now these comments from their franchise quarterback.
But, in the first comments made since calling out the players and team leadership, Tagovailoa was apologetic for what he said, regretting his decision to say what he said.
"I want to publicly apologize about that," Tagovailoa said. "Move forward, and focus on the Cleveland Browns."
Sitting at 1-5 after the Week 6 loss to the Chargers, the Dolphins are running out of time to turn things around this season. The Browns are also 1-5, and a win over them would have the Dolphins heading back in the right direction.
A lot still needs to go the Dolphins' way, but securing a win in Week 7 would be a huge help for Miami amid all of the drama in recent weeks, and help the team move past the comments Tagovailoa made following the Week 6 loss.
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