Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is preparing for the start of the 2023 NFL season and has recently received criticism for his offseason regimen from ESPN analyst, Ryan Clark.
Clark was recapping the Week 2 preseason matchup between the Dolphins and Houston Texans on ESPN’s NFL Live and had this to say about Tua’s current physique:
This level of hate from Ryan Clark is unbelievable…
Tua does nothing but keep his head down and work his tail off the ENTIRE off season to get his body right.
How dare @espn for the constant hate y’all don’t even hide it anymore pic.twitter.com/w5I6OwZJH4
— JoeRobbie (@JoeRobbie_) August 22, 2023
In the game versus the Texans, Tagovailoa completed five of his seven pass attempts for 61 passing yards and one interception, but his performance on the field isn’t what stuck out to Clark. Clark went on to say that by the looks of it, Tagovailoa "wasn’t in the gym during the offseason," implying he looks to be out of shape.
"He was not at the dinner table eating what the nutritionist had advised," Clark added.
In response, Tagovailoa was not too pleased and issued a warning to Clark when speaking to the media on the matter:
#Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa responds to ESPN's Ryan Clark, who accused him of not working out this offseason:
"I would appreciate it if you kept my name out of your mouth."
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 23, 2023
Tagovailoa kindly asked Clark to "keep his [my] name out of your mouth." He has made a concerted effort to bulk up this offseason to be able to endure contact better after suffering two brain injuries that forced him to miss numerous games last season.
Before working for ESPN as an NFL analyst, Clark spent 13 years playing in the NFL, most notably with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a part of the 2008 Steelers Super Bowl run and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2011.
Speaking from experience, Clark did not hold back on the comments he made regarding Tagovailoa.
