Read the full transcript from Tua Tagovailoa's press conference on September 3, 2025.
Q: Not to live too much in the past, but I'm sure you feel like if you were under center during the 2024 game against the Colts, you guys would take it, right? Is this kind of a revenge game or do you not see it that way?
"No, I wouldn't say this is a revenge game at all. You've got to look at their coaching staff – different defensive coordinator, some of the players are different as well that they acquired. So what they're doing defensively is going to be different than what we'd seen last year with the Colts, so I don't look at any of those games as a revenge game or I need to do something special this game. Just got to do what I'm told, what is my job, what is my footwork, my soundbite and go about it that way."
Q: What do you remember feeling as you watched the offense struggle and that was all you could do – watch?
"I would say it's always a struggle when you're not able to be out there with your guys you work countlessly, you work tirelessly with them with getting the timings right, the footwork, progressions, spots with those guys and just can't do anything to help but cheer them on or have communication with them on the sideline. I've said it many times, but I really can't be putting the team in that situation."
Q: How do you feel about or I guess the confidence that you have and what you've seen in camp and now through preseason games that you guys are going to be at the spot you want to be offensively as you open the season?
"Only time will tell when we get to play on Sunday, so we know what the expectations are for our team. We know what the standard is for our team, as a unit – special teams, offense and defense – we've got to go show that and you don't just talk about that. Yeah sure, you want to talk about it within the team, but we've got to show that. Enough with the talking. We've just got to go show that."
Q: What are the trademarks of a Lou Anarumo-coached defense? What stands out about what they do especially anything unique?
"I think they do really well with their personnels. Outside of their personnels. we're going to have to see what they do with certain guys out there, right – fast nickel, regular nickel, their base, what they want to do against us. I would say the thing they do really well when we look at his tape at Cincy, they do disguise some of their pressures really well while playing some coverage back there, so we're going to have to be sound on that. Being able to pick it up and being able to make them pay if they do."
Q: Where would you say your connection with WR Tyreek Hill is now both on and off the field?
"I would say it's good. I think for what it was earlier in the summer was just that and I think people might have blown it out of proportion to where now we've worked on it and I think that conversation is dead now. I think once people see Tyreek (Hill) score on Sunday, everyone will forget about that. We're in a good spot and we've been in a good spot for some time as well, so I'm really happy with that and pleased with that. I'm very pleased with how our guys are operating now in all rooms – tight ends, running backs, receivers, o-line, all of that. I'm very happy."
Q: I wanted to ask you about the stretch last season when you came back from the injury starting with the Arizona game. I think it was like a four or five-game stretch where Head Coach Mike McDaniel was saying this morning that was some of your best football. Do you see that stretch as some of the best football you've played and I guess if so, was that just a product of having a different vantage point of being able to look at the game a different way from the sideline or what would you say contributed to most of that?
"I would agree that that was definitely some of my best football last year, and I would say to the point of being out, I did have a different vantage point of coach to player, how the guys are seeing that versus how I see it. You can take some of how certain guys see things and use that and then also on certain plays being out; what teams are trying to look to take away and where I can get to quicker within the progression to make them pay for it."
Q: How much more of a challenge is it for you to get ready for a Week 1 game against a defense that has a new DC and new parts compared to later in the year when you have game tape on them?)
"It's always tough because I think we are a nuance to teams where they might show one thing against us but never show it again against another team and then that's how other teams build off of, 'OK, if this team found success against the Dolphins, then maybe we can try that but add to it.' So I would say week to week is always going to be a challenge, but you go off of the base and the fundamentals of what their defensive structure is and then you go from there and you build off of that."
Q: Sounds like Colts CB Xavien Howard is going to play a lot. What do you think that will be like?
"I think that'll be cool. I've got a lot of respect for my dawg. He was really 'The Last of the Mohicans.' When I got in, he was the OG when I got in here, so I've got a lot of respect for him and I think he was the longest (tenured) Dolphin that I can remember since being here."
Q: Year 4 now as a starter in Week 1 – how important is it to start the season off with a win?
"I think it's always important to start the season off with a win. I wouldn't say I'm looking at it as 4-0 or 5-0 or whatever it is. You're always trying to get a good jump start. You only get 17 of these games and you're trying to figure out how you can stack all of those into the win column and how you can eliminate those losses."
Q: How do you feel about this offense's cohesiveness now that WR Tyreek Hill and RB De'Von Achane are working back in?
"It's good. I would say with 'Reek' (Tyreek Hill) – I've had three years under my belt with 'Reek' so timing, seeing things together, I would say that's all there. And then with 'Von' (De'Von Achane), we just had practice again and he was out in one of the other practices that we had prior to this practice, so I don't think there's been a misstep with him as well getting back in. He's been staying focused, locked in with what he needs to do in order to help us win games."
Q: You mentioned the Colts do a good job of disguising some of the stuff they can do. If I remember correctly, the Texans did a really good job with that as well. I guess what were some of the teaching points from that game that will carry over to Sunday?
"I would say a lot of the things that gave us problems were the tricky twos and we've made that a point of emphasis and how we want to attack that, how we want to look at that and just it's more so vision for the quarterback off of actions, how we're looking at seeing that especially with the post player being the run through guy, so we know we're going to be getting a lot of that, a lot of two-man."
Q: What would make a successful season for you on the team?
"To win it. That's a successful season every time, is to win it. We're trying to win it all. If not, I don't know why we're playing football."
Q: How much chemistry have you been able to build with TE Darren Waller in a short period of time?
"We've been able to work a little bit. I think the cool thing about 'D. Wall' (Darren Waller) is he's been staying locked in mentally. When we were on the road, he'd come and ask me questions. Like, 'Hey, I've seen you work this route with this guy. Why did you throw it this way or why did you throw it that way?' or 'What are you seeing or what are you looking at?' I think he's been really locked in throughout the past couple weeks and then we've had some reps with him as well, so we'll see how much playing time he gets this Sunday."
Q: What makes you confident that he'll be able to do what you need him to do?
"There's some plays that he's made out there that I would say I'm pretty confident that he'll make some plays for us. Now is he going to have a lot of playing time – that I'm not too sure with what the coaches got going on and with the game plan aspect of it, I'm not too sure."
Q: What have you said or would you say to OL Jonah Savaiinaea between now and the first snap?
"If there's something that I need to tell him, I probably would've told him already because he has three games under his belt now, if you will, but this is when the going gets tough. You're going against the best of the best from every team, but I don't think he needs to change anything. If anything, this is how you learn, right? Trial by fire. You find out who your guys are and you find out how they react to adversity and you go from there."
Q: What does it mean to you – a couple years now – but what does it mean to you to be a captain and just as far as a leader and how do you kind of take that into the season as you've grown of what that term means?
"It means a lot. I say that because I think my leadership for myself and how I've grown as a person as well has changed over the years with how I look at things within the team, with how I interact with guys, all of that. I think it's changed and it's grown, and I think as the season goes on, that's not to say, too, for the guys that also got mentioned as captains, it's an honor for us for us to be named by our teammates, by coaches as well to be named captain and you can't take that lightly. There's a lot of guys that wanted to be captains as well on this team but didn't get voted, so we don't take that lightly. But we can definitely carry that into the season because it's going to take us players to get this ball moving. Yeah sure, you could say the coaches do this, do that, but it's about the players."
Q: I watched the first episode of "Under The Sun" last night. I was just curious as to how this experience kind of compared to Hard Knocks a few years back?
"I would say that experience was a little different because I knew the people that were riding in the car with me, that came over to the house, all of that, that was asking the questions. So I would say there was some comfort in that whereas you get people that you don't really know are they after me, are they nice – you just don't know so that whole trust thing, and I would say that was the difference."
Q: Was there another receiver that you were able to build a good chemistry with during the offseason while WR Tyreek Hill was out?
"I would say Malik (Washington). I would say Malik. I had many reps with 'Esko' (Dee Eskridge), I had many reps also with Nick (Westbrook-Ikhine), so I was able to build some repertoire with those guys and how they come out of breaks on certain routes and kind of their feel of the game as well. So I would say those three guys."
