01-31-2020, 04:26 PM
Tua Tagovailoa QB, College Player
Tua Tagovailoa's agent hopes he doesn't have to start as a rookie. "If you look at Aaron Rodgers, Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers, none of them started the first year and my wish for Tua would be that he would go to a team that would give him a year to learn the system and do everything before the pressure of being a starting quarterback was upon him," said Leigh Steinberg, who believes his client could benefit from a red-shirt year, just as Patrick Mahomes did playing behind incumbent Alex Smith in 2017. Tagovailoa seems to mostly agree with Steinberg's assessment, claiming he'd be fine with "either" scenario (starting or backing up a veteran). Slightly undersized (6'1"/218) but exceedingly accurate, the 21-year-old southpaw garnered Drew Brees comparisons throughout his three-year tenure at Alabama. He's still recovering from hip surgery, though the expectation is that Tua will be healthy enough to throw for teams leading up to April's draft.
Source: ProFootballTalk on NBC Sports Jan 31, 2020, 9:20 AM ET