Ex-player delivers harshest criticism yet of Tagovailoa. The reaction, and Dolphins notes

A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Wednesday, the team’s only off day this week:

▪ Tua Tagovailoa remains the gift that keeps on giving for ESPN, providing the network’s gabfests with endless hours of content.

Aside from Aaron Rogers, Tagovailoa -- along with Dak Prescott and Josh Allen -- fill more hours on the network’s studio shows than any other NFL player, particularly Mike Greenberg’s “Get Up,” Stephen A. Smith’s “First Take,” and “NFL Live.”

So it was no surprise that Tagovailoa’s four-year, $212 million extension was alternately praised and bashed on ESPN programs this week. It also wasn’t a surprise how it was negatively framed as a talking point, often with the question along the lines of “Will the Dolphins regret giving Tagovailoa” the contract?

ESPN’s Chris Canty, on his radio show, was the harshest critic, railing that Tagovailoa is “not even a top five player at the position in his conference. In what world does it make sense to pay him that kind of money? I struggle to see a world where this doesn’t end up in regret for the Miami Dolphins.

“It feels like job justification for Chris Grier, the general manager of the Dolphins trying to validate his pick of Tua in the 2020 NFL Draft. How are you going to have championship expectations when you don’t have a winning record against winning teams? It’s ridiculous.”

ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, who has been a Tagovailoa supporter, said of Canty’s comments: “I couldn’t disagree more. His comment of he’s not even a top five guy at his position in the conference… Chris saying that recklessly isn’t putting that in the proper context.

“At the beginning of December, the Dolphins were the one seed with Tua as the starting quarterback. They didn’t fall because of Tua. They fell because they became the most injured team in the NFL. Three offensive linemen, Tyreek Hill got banged up, both of their pass rushers got [injured]. They got decimated by injuries.

“He may not be top five at his position in that conference but very few people are getting mad that Jordan Love got paid. Jordan Love would not be top five at his position in the AFC [if Green Bay were in the AFC].”

And Orlovsky maintained that “you are not going to find five guys in the NFL that can run Miami’s offense the way Tua does.

“That doesn’t mean there aren’t guys that are more talented. No one has more pre-snap motion and timely shifting in motion than the Dolphins; the quarterback has to be in control of all of that, [know] when to do it and how to do it.

“No one has to be able to throw the ball while they’re covered and open them up more than Tua. To make this offense go the way it goes, you need a Steve Nash, Chris Paul type of point guard. That’s exactly what Tua is. That’s why Mike McDaniel is saying that’s the guy we can win a ton of games with at quarterback.”

▪ A couple of final thoughts from ESPN pundits:

Damien Woody, who supported the contract extension, said: “We’re acting like Tua is a finished product, like he can’t get better. He’s still a young player who’s only going to keep ascending. I don’t understand the outrage. This young man still has a runway ahead of him to get better as a quarterback.”

Ryan Clark said of the contract: “My first question is: Is this going to make him more elusive in the pocket? Is it going to make him a more willing creator, not runner? Will he give Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle opportunities for second play chances? He didn’t do that last year. He wouldn’t create. So when you took away the first read, there was no counter punch given to you by the quarterback.

“So if you can’t do that, what is Mike McDaniel going to do to expand this offense? What is he going to do to confuse you to offset some of these things Tua Tagovailoa has to do on time in order to be successful? If they don’t do that, they won’t beat the good defenses, they won’t beat the good teams. Good teams make you make an adjustment, not only pregame but also in game. Every team that had the ability to do that to the Miami Dolphins walked away with a win.”

▪ The Dolphins summoned four wide receivers and four defensive backs for tryouts on Tuesday.

The receivers: Willie Snead (281 catches, 3445 yards, 16 TDs in nine-year career but just eight appearances, for the 49ers, over the past two season); Richie James (105 catches for 1372 yards and 7 TDs in five years with the 49ers, Giants and Chiefs); Jaylon Moore (mostly a practice squad player after going undrafted out of Tennessee Martin in 2020) and Xavier White, who had 39 catches for 556 yards at Texas Tech last season.

[UPDATE: The Dolphins signed Snead on Wednesday afternoon.]

The Dolphins are short-handed at receiver, with Odell Beckham Jr. on PUP. And River Cracraft might be dealing with something minor. Also, Erik Ezukanma was not seen at Tuesday’s practice.

The defensive backs are Javelin Guidry (32 games and five starts for the Jets and Raiders); Greedy Williams (former second-round pick of the Browns who had two interceptions in 21 starts for Cleveland and was cut by the Eagles before training camp last year); Faion Hicks (a Pembroke Pines Flanagan alum and former seventh-round pick by Denver, out of Wisconsin, who hasn’t played a defensive snaps in an NFL game) and Rachad Wildgoose (a former Miami Northwestern player who has played 20 games, with three starts, for the Jets and Washington).

Miami’s cornerback depth was depleted this week when Cam Smith sustained a lower body injury; he’s expected back at some point in August.

▪ Though rookie second-round pick Patrick Paul has had some predictable growing pains at left tackle (including a few false start penalties), the skill set is apparent.

“He’s impressive,” Terron Armstead said. “He’s done a lot of things well in this very early part of his career that gets your attention. You see the talent; you see the flashes. Things that he needs to learn and work on, which of course, but I like where he’s at mentally. He’s tough, he’s physical, strong, he’s huge.

“His ability to move and mirror, stay in front of guys to finish a play has been impressive. I like him a lot. He’s going to be a really good player for a long time. We just got to keep working and finetuning some things techniques wise, mindset, a lot of pre-snap adjustments that he can kind of learn from. But that will come with time and experience.”

▪ Armstead, on how Tagovailoa has grown further this offseason: “It’s like he’s growing up right in front of our eyes. He’s more vocal, got a swagger about him. He’s hard on himself still, which we appreciate. He’s not afraid to call himself out. He’s not afraid to call others out which he wouldn’t necessarily do my first year here….

“I love the direction that he’s going. The mishaps, some interceptions, the fumbles snaps and all of that, got to get those cleaned up. Can’t just say it, we’ve got to go do it. But knowing Tua, he’s the guy to put that work in to eliminate that.”

▪ With David Long coming off PUP earlier this week, he’ll start getting a lot of reps alongside Jordyn Brooks as they continue to develop their inside linebacker partnership.

“He’s like a quiet assassin; that’s what I’ve been calling him,” Long said. “He doesn’t really say much, but he knows some ball. He’s physical and he fits right in with the play style that we want to play.”

Long said he misses Jerome Baker (who now plays for Seattle) “a lot. We hung together, especially off the field. As far as on the field, I think we gelled together just like me and ‘JB’ (Jordyn Brooks).”

While Baker conveyed calls to his teammates last season, Long indicated he will get that assignment this year.

“I’m the Mike, so back to having the play calls,” Long said. “... That’s something I’ve been doing since I’ve been in the league. So it feels good to be back doing that same thing.”

▪ Quick news note: Jalen Ramsey was 25th in NFL Network’s player poll of the top 100 players in the league.