The Miami Dolphins suffered their fifth loss of the season on Sunday, falling to the Los Angeles Chargers. The Dolphins haven’t performed well at all this year, and things only seem to be getting worse. Alarms are starting to sound louder than ever, especially after quarterback Tua Tagovailoa publicly called out his teammates following the loss.
“We have guys showing up to player online meetings late, guys not showing up to player only meetings,” Tagovailoa told the media.
His comments quickly made headlines — and not in a good way. Former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner was among the first to call him out.
“Being a pro means you have a standard that you hold yourself accountable to… to blame [someone else] for your lack of professionalism is a cop-out,” Warner said.
Warner isn’t the only one criticizing Tagovailoa. Other former players have also voiced their disapproval.
“Several former players blaming Tua in wake of these comments. Tua probably shouldn’t have said it; this should not have been for public consumption. But there are many more pressing problems with this team; this will get a lot of attention because people like soap operas and drama,” wrote the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson.
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The backlash intensified when Dez Bryant took to social media to express his frustration with Tagovailoa.
“I want to know what part of this he’s going to take accountability for..Tua threw three picks today…Tua is third in the NFL with the most interceptions thrown by a quarterback.. If you haven’t said this privately first..then in the media..I don’t respect it. And since we are on the topic of respect..I guarantee a lot of the players don’t respect Tua. Tua points the finger and literally has four pointing back at him..If you want to win..put Ewers in,” Bryant posted.
Right now, no one seems happy with Tagovailoa, and his comments may have only deepened issues within the locker room. The Dolphins have long struggled with internal culture problems, and this latest controversy suggests those issues are resurfacing.
No one is holding back in their criticism of Tagovailoa. The quarterback now has a big target on his back — and not for the reasons he would have hoped. It will be interesting to see how he navigates the fallout moving forward.
