Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa regrets speaking out after the team’s Week 6 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Following the 29–27 defeat, in which he threw three interceptions, Tagovailoa revealed that some teammates had been skipping player-led meetings — a comment that sparked fresh controversy for the already struggling 1–5 Dolphins.
Head coach Mike McDaniel later criticized Tua for using his postgame press conference to voice internal team issues, saying it wasn’t the right “forum” for such matters. The quarterback has since apologized privately to teammates and publicly on Wednesday.
“I made a mistake, and I’m owning up to it,” Tagovailoa told ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. “I’ve talked to the guys and the team leaders. They understand my intentions were good, but even with the right intent, when the media twists things, it creates confusion and questions inside the locker room.”
Tua admitted his emotional comments after the Chargers loss only made things worse.
“We always say, ‘block out the noise and come to work motivated,’” he said. “But I feel like I just added to that noise for the guys.”
Despite the apology, many believe it won’t fix what’s broken in Miami. The Dolphins are dealing with deep locker room dysfunction, and airing internal issues publicly has only intensified scrutiny.
Coach McDaniel, now 9–14 in his last 23 games, is reportedly on the hot seat amid growing tension. A players-only meeting held after their 33–8 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 hasn’t helped turn things around.
Currently sitting third in the AFC East behind the Patriots (4–2) and Bills (4–2), the Dolphins appear headed toward missing the playoffs for the second straight year.
Tagovailoa may have wanted to motivate his teammates, but doing so publicly backfired — adding more drama to an already unraveling season.