Marcel Louis-JacquesOct 15, 2025, 03:49 PM ETCloseMarcel Louis-Jacques joined ESPN in 2019 as a beat reporter covering the Buffalo Bills, before switching to the Miami Dolphins in 2021. The former Carolina Panthers beat writer for the Charlotte Observer won the APSE award for breaking news and the South Carolina Press Association award for enterprise writing in 2018.Follow on X
Tua Tagovailoa apologizes for postgame criticism of teammates (1:30)Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa issues an apology for his remarks after the Dolphins’ Week 6 loss to the Chargers. (1:30)
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa apologized Wednesday for comments he made after Sunday’s loss to the Chargers, when he criticized teammates for being late to players-only meetings.
Tagovailoa opened his news conference Wednesday by apologizing for his comments and taking responsibility for their impact on his teammates.
“I’ve got to look at myself as the leader 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. And that’s something that I can learn from as a leader on this team and what happens in-house should be protected and none of that should have gotten out.”
Shortly after Miami’s 29-27 loss Sunday, Tagovailoa was asked how players would refrain from feeling sorry for themselves after a 1-5 start. He said the team’s player leadership needed to clearly define expectations for the rest of the team — and those expectations needed to be met.
“We have guys showing up to players-only meetings late, guys not showing up to players-only meetings,” he said. “There’s a lot that goes into that. Do we have to make this mandatory? Do we not have to make this mandatory?
“It’s a lot of things of that nature that we’ve got to get cleaned up, and it starts with little things like that.”
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Monday that Tagovailoa’s comments were “misguided” and were made in an improper forum.
Multiple players, including Rasul Douglas, Aaron Brewer and Patrick Paul, declined to comment on Tagovailoa’s public message from Sunday, saying team issues should be kept in-house.
Defensive tackle Zach Sieler, who is a team captain like Tagovailoa, said everyone has a “right to our opinion” but otherwise said he didn’t want to critique the quarterback.
McDaniel said he hasn’t had an issue with player attendance at team meetings, and that Tagovailoa’s comments pertained only to players-only sessions. The Dolphins had an issue with tardiness and absences from team activities in previous seasons, but multiple players and coaches say those issues are behind them.
“There’s been stuff in the past we have absolutely fixed,” Sieler said. “We have a lot of new guys on my side of the ball … and I think we have a lot of guys that want to buy in. They’re buying into the culture, they’re trying to put their best foot forward. We aren’t making some of the plays we need to make, and the best thing we can do is be present, deliver every practice to really hone in on those plays to make it as game-like as possible so on Sunday we start making those plays.”
Tagovailoa said he made his original comments out of frustration, and conversations with his teammates opened him up to perspectives that he hadn’t previously thought of.
“But I would say there hasn’t been any bickering or pointing of fingers lately. There’s just guys that are putting their head down, trying to work and do the best that they can to put us in the best position to win games.”
Tua Tagovailoa apologizes for postgame criticism of teammates (1:30)Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa issues an apology for his remarks after the Dolphins’ Week 6 loss to the Chargers. (1:30)
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa issues an apology for his remarks after the Dolphins’ Week 6 loss to the Chargers. (1:30)
CloseMarcel Louis-Jacques joined ESPN in 2019 as a beat reporter covering the Buffalo Bills, before switching to the Miami Dolphins in 2021. The former Carolina Panthers beat writer for the Charlotte Observer won the APSE award for breaking news and the South Carolina Press Association award for enterprise writing in 2018.Follow on X