In what has been a sorry season for the Miami Dolphins, perhaps it’s not much of a surprise that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa offered up an apology a few days ahead of Sunday’s game against the host Cleveland Browns.
Tagovailoa issued his mea culpa on Wednesday, three days after he called out teammates for being tardy and for their attendance at player-only meetings. His comments followed a 29-27 loss against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“As a leader of this team, the Miami Dolphins, the comments that have been said, I would say that I made a mistake and I’m owning up to that right now,” Tagovailoa said. “I’ve talked to the guys about it, I’ve talked to the leaders about it. They know my heart, they know the intent was right, but no matter the intent … 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.
“… For myself, I have to look at myself as a leader and protecting the team. I don’t feel like I did that to the best of my abilities. I felt like I let the emotions of the game get to me after the game. That’s something I can learn from as a leader on this team. What happens in-house should be protected. None of that should have gotten out. I want to publicly apologize about that. I want to move forward, and now I want to focus on the Cleveland Browns.”
Speaking of the Browns (1-5), they put forth a rather sorry performance in a 23-9 setback to the Pittsburgh Steelers last weekend.
Dillon Gabriel was sacked six times and completed 29 of 52 passes for just 221 yards. Fellow rookie Quinshon Judkins was limited to just 12 carries for a season-worst 36 yards.
The end result was a third straight loss for Cleveland, which ranks 27th in the NFL in total yards (281.5), 28th in rushing (90.7), 26th in passing (191.0) and 32nd — yes, dead last — in points per game (13.7).
“From play to play, there’s a lot of things that you want back and you take notes on and you want to continue to emphasize,” Gabriel said, per Cleveland.com. “I think the common theme is when you need it, you’ve got to go get it. That’s kind of what we need to do.”
Now, it’s not all gloom and doom for the Dolphins (1-5), who saw De’Von Achane total 150 scrimmage yards and two rushing touchdowns last week. Achane, a running back, is tied with wideout Jaylen Waddle with a team-best 29 catches this season.
The Dolphins also feature a Cinderella story of sorts in Darren Waller, who came back from retirement to lead all AFC tight ends in receiving touchdowns with four in just three games.
Waller (hip/rest) and star linebacker Jordyn Brooks (neck) were among those limited in Wednesday’s practice, while fullback Alec Ingold (neck/rest) and defensive back Elijah Campbell (quadricep) did not participate.
As for Cleveland, tight end David Njoku (knee), offensive tackle Jack Conklin (concussion) and wideout Gage Larvadain (concussion) did not participate in practice on Wednesday. Star defensive end Myles Garrett (elbow), wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (knee), guard Joel Bitonio (rest), defensive tackle Maliek Collins (rest) and offensive tackle Cam Robinson (knee) were among those limited in the session.
