Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t care about media criticism but also keeps recipients.
The Miami Dolphins quarterback responded to the notion that some have questioned if his substantial improvement this season has had more to do with wide receiver Tyreek Hill than anything he’s done.
“I keep receipts.”
Tua Tagovailoa gave a strong response today when asked about proving wrong media narrative that he’s only good because of or with Tyreek Hill. pic.twitter.com/4Gmo0Qn0zS
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) December 20, 2023
“Everyone wants to make this about me, about Tyreek. Please keep pushing it to Tyreek. Make it about Tyreek,” Tagovailoa said. “I understand that my platform and who I am in this league as a quarterback makes me, if you want, polarizing. Whether I’m the best, whether I’m the worst, I couldn’t care less. I don’t listen to it.”
“At the end of the day, I really don’t care… I keep receipts. We all have a way of how we do things. But all the narratives about it, yeah, sure. I am only good with Tyreek in. You’re right. That is the only time that I’m at my best. You’re right. I’m only good when Jaylen [Waddle] ‘s in… I’m only as good as Raheem Mostert allows me to be. That’s what the narrative needs to be, and we’re able to win games, and we’re able to go where we want to go as a team. I am the worst football player if that’s what you want.”
Those comments drew the attention of many, including one, Shanon Sharpe, who has often been critical of the Miami Dolphins quarterback. Sharpe, though, seemingly took more issue with how Tagovailoa keeps receipts regarding criticism and what he perceives as negative coverage.
Shannon Sharpe’s reaction to Tua Tagovailoa keeping receipts: “He doesn’t care, but he spends 90 minutes at the podium telling you that he doesn’t care.” #MiamiDolphins pic.twitter.com/mpZbaSDgl0
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 21, 2023
“He doesn’t care, but he spends 90 minutes at the podium telling you that he doesn’t care,” Sharpe said when asked about his reaction to Tagovailoa keeping receipts. “But, where was this attitude after the Tennessee loss? That was your time. No, don’t go up there; you beat the Jets. You beat the lowly, pathetic-playing Jets. You hang 3o on them; they get nothing. And now you want to beat your chest like you, King Kong, on The Empire State Building? Bruh, you standing up there like Dan Marino. Stop playing.
“We remember what you were before Tyreek got there. Let me tell you how much they wanted Tyreek. Davante Adams signed the largest contract in wide receiver history as a free agent. The Miami Dolphins moved heaven and earth to get Tyreek, gave up major compensation, and made him the highest-paid receiver in NFL history with years on his contract, something we don’t normally see. And you want to get up there and pretend like you the driving force? Really, Tua? That’s what we doing right now? Oh, you keeping receipts? We got some, too….”
Sharpe was highly critical of Tagovailoa, as he disagreed with the quarterback’s perceived overconfidence after the team’s 30-0 victory over the New York Jets. Sharpe also questioned Tagovailoa’s impact compared to Tyreek Hill, who was absent from last week’s game due to an ankle injury.
“What has happened is these guys, they love all the praise, ” said Sharpe. “They live for the praise, but they die by the criticism. So if we critique anything that they don’t do well, ‘Oh, you a hater. I keep receipts.’ Well, I got a pocket of them, too. And you know what? My receipt’s long like a CVS list…Come on, Tua. Bruh, you had a nice bounce-back game, but all of a sudden, don’t start pretending like you are a top-three quarterback like you, Dan Marino.”
Dan Orlovsky immediately pushed back and questioned Sharpe about his criticism of “Tua stuff” and said he never understood it. Orlovsky pointed out that Sharpe’s comments indicate why Tagovailoa is spending what the former described as “90 minutes at the podium,” which would justify his actions.
Ultimately, as we saw with Sharpe, Tagovailoa’s “receipts” approach may backfire, amplifying criticism instead of silencing it, leaving him caught in a cycle of media drama.
