Tua’s offseason work away from Dolphins lining up with what coaches want from QB

As Tua Tagovailoa has worked separately with personal passing coach John Beck, the new mechanics work in conjunction with what Dolphins quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell wants.

MIAMI GARDENS — The contract extension talks between the Miami Dolphins and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa are the hot topic surrounding the two in the weeks leading up to training camp, which starts in late July.

But away from the negotiating table, Tagovailoa has had a busy offseason of work both on the field — with personal passing coach John Beck — and with his conditioning efforts to slim down.

The new, “svelte” Tagovailoa, as Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has called him, can benefit from moving around better at whatever new weight figure he clocks going into the 2024 season.

And his training with Beck, a former Dolphins quarterback and 2007 second-round draft pick, hasn’t merely been a freelance effort, either. What Tagovailoa works on in California with Beck aligns with what the Dolphins want from him.

“It’s really important that we stay connected to that,” Dolphins quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell said earlier this month at the team’s minicamp. “Tua didn’t just go out and do it by himself. He did go get John, but I know John. Obviously, head man knows John, as well. It’s important that we stay kind of connected and we don’t get too far away and we’re just kind of making up stuff that won’t translate to us.

“I’ve sat down with John. We’ve had good communication and sort of a back and forth to make sure we’re all pulling in the same direction.”

Bevell said the team has seen positive results from the training, which has put an emphasis on the rubber-band theory, generating more force in the throwing motion from the hips.

“It’s seamless when you throw, so your hip goes before your upper body,” Tagovailoa explained during minicamp. “When you release it, it just snaps. So, it’s just a flick of the wrist, but the ball takes off for you.”

McDaniel said he has witnessed Tagovailoa create more power with his new and improved throwing motion that still has a couple of months to get fine-tuned before the upcoming season.

Bevell sees the benefits of it in practicality.

“Tua’s already a really solid quarterback. He’s really accurate,” Bevell said. “But there may be times, in certain specific throws, that it can help you get more velocity on those throws.

“You’re always talking about momentum and getting your body to go in the same direction that you’re trying to throw in, so all that stuff is positive and can definitely help him.”

The offseason work for Tagovailoa is just another example of how he takes his time away from team facilities seriously to improve his technique.

“I just think he continues to get better,” Bevell said, “and he continues to be very deliberate about working his craft, whether it’s the things that we’re asking him to get better at or the things that he feels he needs to get better at.”

Tagovailoa is under contract in 2024 through the fifth-year option the Dolphins exercised last offseason. The two sides have expressed willingness to get a long-term deal done to secure Tagovailoa in Miami for several years beyond that, but they have not gotten over the hump.

In the meantime, Tagovailoa had sporadic absences from voluntary offseason workouts, including one session during organized team activities, but was present for all of mandatory minicamp. When practicing, he has sat out 11-on-11 team drills, while partaking in 7-on-7 work.