Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa proving that offseason jiu-jitsu training is already paying off on the field

One of the main wild playing cards surrounding the Dolphins potentialities for the 2023 season is the sturdiness of Tua Tagovailoa. Miami’s quarterback is coming off a 12 months the place he suffered a couple of concussions and used to be not able to fit up down the stretch, together with the membership’s playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. 

If Tagovailoa is to be had for the Dolphins all through the season, they’ve a powerful likelihood to crash the celebration in the AFC East and make a playoff push. With each hit Tagovailoa takes, then again, Dolphins lovers will probably be jointly retaining their breath. 

To assist curb that possibility of extra head accidents, the 25-year-old added jiu-jitsu training to his offseason routine with the thought of the martial artwork serving to him soak up touch and fall to the floor in a more secure method. 

As Miami wrapped up its preseason slate towards the Jaguars on Saturday, Tagovailoa’s training does seem to be translating onto the field. After creating a cross off a faux toss, Tagovailoa used to be shoved to the floor through Jacksonville cross rusher Josh Allen. The quarterback can then be noticed rolling over and popping proper again up unhurt. 

This is a stark distinction from the manner Tagovailoa used to be hitting the floor closing season, as you’ll be able to see from this side-by-side video the place it displays the again of the quarterback’s head smacking the floor in the Dolphins’ Week 2 matchup towards the Bills in 2022. 

When proven this newest video, Tagovailoa’s jiu-jitsu trainer told ESPN, “This clip is amazing. We literally drilled this every single session.”

“For guys at my position, we barely get hit throughout practices, throughout the offseason, even going into training camp,” Tagovailoa said to ESPN previous this offseason about his jiu-jitsu training. “We don’t even get touched until the season starts. So I mean, with jiu-jitsu, I’ve been thrown airborne, I’ve been put in many uncomfortable positions for me to learn how to fall and try to react throughout those positions that I’m getting thrown around in.”

When Tagovailoa used to be on the field closing season, he used to be enjoying at arguably the best stage of his profession. Even enjoying in simply 13 video games, he completed with a career-high 3,548 yards and 25 touchdowns to head together with a 105.5 passer score. The Dolphins have been additionally 8-5 in Tagovailoa’s 13 begins. 

So, if this training continues to supply dividends and helps to keep Tagovailoa on the field in 2023, that may imply good things for Miami.