Former NFL players react to Tua Tagovailoa's candid comments: 'Isn’t he just telling on himself?'

The reaction to Tua Tagovailoa's postgame comments following a fifth Miami Dolphins loss in six games was swift and strong, especially from former NFL players.

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The Dolphins quarterback told reporters that some players have showed up late, or not at all, to player-only meetings.

“I think it starts with the leadership in helping articulate that for the guys and then what we’re expecting out of the guys,” Tagovailoa said. “We're expecting this. Are we getting that? Are we not getting that?

“We have guys showing up to player-only meetings late, guys not showing up to player-only meetings. There’s a lot that goes into that. Do we have to make this mandatory? Do we not have to make this mandatory? So it’s a lot of things of that nature that we got to get cleaned up. And it starts with the little things like that."

Those comments were quickly focused in on by former players, who called out Tagovailoa for seemingly absolving himself as QB1 of any accountability, only going as far as saying he's "contributed with the turnovers" during this poor opening stretch of games.

"Woof…. 🙈 That’s on you bud," wrote current NFL on Prime analyst Andrew Whitworth on X.

"Isn’t he just telling on himself?," wrote former All-Pro guard Mitchell Schwartz. "He is THE leader of the team and guys aren’t showing up to players only meetings. This has nothing to do with coaches, front office, etc. Players only meetings are governed by players. Very weird to talk about and admit."

"Young QBs this is NOT how it’s done. Dont complain about how things need to change," wrote longtime quarterback Josh McCown. "Be where the change starts!"

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Emmanuel Acho added to the former player sentiment that Tagovailoa is not holding himself accountable.

"The Dolphins have to fire their coaches after these statements, Tua also just incriminated himself," Acho wrote. "He doesn’t have the respect of all his teammates. If players are skipping player only meetings, there is not a healthy reverence of leadership or authority inside the walls."

Jermon Bushrod, who played for the Dolphins in 2016 and 2017, did not like that locker room issues are now out into the open.

"This dolphins team is frustrating on and off the field. Not only is the product on the field a disappointment, but the leakage of “locker room/team” information is flagrant and UNNECESSARY‼️," Bushrod wrote.

Another former Dolphin chimed from a personal experience. DaeSean Hamilton spent two weeks with Miami's practice squad during the tail-end of the 2022 season and called out Tagovailoa for his own tardiness.

"This dude…the starting QB…was late to the first team meeting during my 3 seconds on the Dolphins 😂😂😂😂 and everything was all cool in there," Hamilton wrote.

Devin McCourty added his own comments during NBC's "Football Night in America" pregame show. McCourty's brother, Jason, spent his final NFL season in 2021 with the Dolphins and a second-year Tagovailoa. Devin McCourty didn't hold back his feelings on dirty laundry being aired to the media, via Marisa Marino of Dolphins Talk.

“I hated every bit of that," McCourty said. "I played in New England with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady and Coach Belichick used to talk about, when you have true leadership, it doesn’t need to be talked about. So, if there’s a problem, Tua, you’re a captain of this team, you’re a quarterback. Go handle it. Don’t sit there in front of a camera and talk to media members about guys messing up. Get in the locker room, call those guys out by name. If confrontation happens, that happens sometimes, but I think to come and air out your dirty laundry and let everybody know that there’s a problem – we know there’s a problem, you’re not winning football games. Go fix it in-house. Handle it that way. I think that’s true leadership.”

Ran Carthon, a former player and longtime personnel director who was most-recently general manager of the Tennessee Titans, was on CBS HQ's wrap-up show and joined those in pointing the finger at Tagovailoa.

"Everything that you said postgame had to do with players, right? And the last time I checked, you wear that C on your chest, which means you're one of the leaders on this team," Carthon said. "So if players aren't showing up to player-led meetings, that starts with you, that has nothing to do with Mike McDaniels, that has nothing to do with Chris Grier, that has nothing to do with anybody that is not in that locker room. That's you, that's your teammates that all wear that C on their chest. That's you guys not holding each other accountable. That has nothing to do with the head coach.

"And what I see out of Tua Tagovailoa, I've never seen him come to the front and say, I have to play better. When he's questioned about the volume of turnovers, it's him being defensive. 'What do you mean? I don't turn the ball overs and bunches.' But you turn the ball over, you don't hold yourself accountable. And in order for this organization to play well and to win football games, you have to lead. And no matter what's going on around you, that's out of the player's hands, right? And it comes down to you fighting for the man next to you, your brother that's in the huddle, your brother that's across the locker room for you. So don't worry about any of that. It starts with you. You need to look yourself in the mirror and figure out what you need to do as the starting quarterback for this Miami Dolphins franchise to help them win football games."

Through six weeks, the Dolphins are 1-5 and deep in a hole in the AFC East. Only the winless Jets, who Miami beat for their lone win, are below them in the standings. Their next stretch of games feature the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, and Washington Commanders before their bye week in Week 12.

If the results remain the same, change will be coming as the pressure only continues to mount on everybody in Miami.