Tua Tagovailoa passes physical, cleared to practice

Tua Tagovailoa has been cleared to compete for the Miami Dolphins’ starting quarterback job this summer.

On Wednesday, Dolphins head coach Brian Flores told reporters that Tagovailoa has passed his physical with the team and is fully cleared to participate in all football activities. Teams will undergo coronavirus testing and take part in strength and conditioning drills over the next two weeks before taking the practice field.

While veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick is the heavy favorite to start for the Dolphins in Week 1, Flores said there will be an open quarterback competition.

“You always want competition in training camp. Every position is an open competition,” Flores said, via ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe. “Obviously, some players are further ahead than others. We all kind of know and understand that, but, yes, we want competition. There’s no jobs that are just going to be handed out.”

Tagovailoa has been saying for months now that he is 100 percent recovered from the hip surgery he underwent last year, and doctors have confirmed that on multiple occasions. He hasn’t taken part in any on-field workouts with his teammates but was part of the virtual offseason and did some work with Fitzpatrick.

Tagovailoa, who was drafted No. 5 overall by the Dolphins, threw for 7,442 yards, 87 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in three seasons at Alabama. There was speculation his hip injury could be catastrophic, but we have heard nothing but positive reports about his recovery the entire way. Assuming he doesn’t suffer any setbacks, it would be a surprise if we did not see him play at some point in 2020.

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