Report: Tua Tagovailoa Preferred to Play for Dolphins After Entering NFL Draft

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is headed to the Miami Dolphins, and he's reportedly thrilled.

"Miami was Tua Tagovailoa's preferred landing spot from the moment he declared for the draft, sources said," ESPN's Cameron Wolfe reported after the Dolphins drafted the 2018 Heisman Trophy finalist at No. 5 overall on Thursday night. "He wasn't certain it would end up this way but he's ecstatic it did."

The Fins are also excited:

Tagovailoa was seen as the presumptive favorite for the No. 1 overall pick before he suffered a season-ending hip injury in mid-November. Meanwhile, Joe Burrow put together one of the best all-time seasons by a collegiate quarterback in 2019.

Even still, Tagovailoa was the second quarterback taken after the Cincinnati Bengals selected Burrow at No. 1 overall.

In late January, the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero reported Tagovailoa wanted to become a Dolphin as rumors swirled that the Detroit Lions were considering him at No. 3 overall:

"Sources close to [the] Tagovailoas say the Alabama quarterback would love for the Dolphins to trade up to No. 3 to select him. Those same sources say they don't love the idea of Detroit actually picking Tua because of the arc of that team's current coaching situation.

"The Lions will be playing their third season under Matt Patricia in 2020. He has a 9-22-1 record his first two seasons and the Tagovailoas are concerned another poor season could force the Lions to fire Patricia— putting the quarterback in the uncertain 2021 situation of being a draft pick the new coach didn't make.

"And this: The Tagovailoas would love to come to the Dolphins. They love the weather. They love the region. They love the idea of trying to be the answer for a team long searching for an elite quarterback."

Prior to dislocating his hip, Tagovailoa had thrown for 2,840 yards, 33 touchdowns and three interceptions on a career-best 71.4 percent accuracy. He had his best all-around campaign as a sophomore in 2018 with 3,966 yards, 43 touchdowns and six picks.

Tagovailoa's injury concerns aren't limited to his hip, however:

The signal-caller's other recorded injuries at Alabama were a broken left index finger (March 2018), a sprained right knee (October 2018) and two high-ankle sprains (December 2018, October 2019).

The Dolphins chose to overlook that history and bet on Tagovailoa's upside for the future.

Miami has not had a true franchise quarterback since Dan Marino.