Tua Tagovailoa is in for a big year.
The Miami Dolphins quarterback is poised to take over the starting role in 2021 after sharing it with Ryan Fitzpatrick in 2020. And with that role comes quite a bit of responsibility.
But Fitzpatrick doesn't doubt Tagovailoa's ability to fill the role full-time. In fact, he's confident the 22-year-old will enter the upcoming season a much-improved player.
"Everything is going to be a little more comfortable this year," Fitzpatrick told ESPN on Thursday. "... To have an offseason, to have repetitions, to have some sense of continuity with (co-offensive coordinators) George Godsey and Eric Studesville in his ear calling the plays and working with him. All that stuff points to him having a much better season this year and continuing to progress as a quarterback. That's the most important thing for him -- progression.
"They drafted him in the top five for a reason, with his skill set and what he can do. There are very few people on this planet who can do that. For them to be fully bought in and believe in him, he's going to do the same thing. He's going to buy into what they're coaching and I think good results are going to come from it."
That's quite an endorsement.
Hopefully for the Dolphins' sake, he's right.
