The Alabama-Auburn rivalry is still apparently going strong in the NFL.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa spoke with reporters after practice on Thursday. During the session, Tagovailoa took some time to respond to some comments made about him by ex-NFL quarterback Cam Newton.
While making a recent appearance on ESPN’s “First Take,” Newton criticized Tagovailoa’s salary and said that the lefty quarterback was not living up to the four-year, $212 million extension he signed with the Dolphins in 2024. He also said that Tagovailoa was talking too much and needed to go back to being “quiet Tua” instead.
Cam Newton expects more from Tua Tagovailoa after going down 0-3
— First Take (@FirstTake) September 19, 2025
"When I see Tua Tagovailoa over this year alone, I've heard him more than I ever have. … I like quiet Tua." pic.twitter.com/yfpRm0gNjQ
“So anybody can play quarterback in this league then,” said Tagovailoa in response on Thursday. “I want to see anybody on the street come play quarterback. Cam is doing his thing for sure. But I think it’s easier to be able to hold a clicker and talk about it that way or talk about what someone else is doing wrong when you’re not going out and having to do the same as them.
“I think it’s easy to do that,” Tagovailoa added. “Anybody can do that. I don’t think anybody can play quarterback.”
"I want to see anybody on the street come play QB… It's easier to be able to hold a clicker and talk about it."
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 25, 2025
Tua on criticism from Cam Newton
(Via @dolphins) pic.twitter.com/HzqGYuq7nN
Of course, Newton did play quarterback in the NFL himself for 11 total seasons from 2011-21, even winning an MVP award and making it to the Super Bowl (neither of which Tagovailoa has even come close to doing to this point of his career). But Tagovailoa’s greater point was probably that it it easier to nitpick a situation from the outside looking in than it is to actually be in the building with the Dolphins and analyze how to get better.
That said, the criticisms for Tagovailoa and the 0-3 Dolphins seem perfectly justified right now. For Tagovailoa specifically, he has a number of brutal turnovers in the early going, including some bad interceptions in the clutch that have gotten him roasted over social media.
