Tua Tagovailoa has lashed out at Ryan Clark after the ESPN NFL analyst said that the Dolphins quarterback looks “heavy” now.
Tagovailoa missed four games last season due to suffering multiple concussions, and has come into this season with a bigger frame, and has advised to keep “my name out of your mouth.”
On Wednesday at Dolphins practice, Tagovailoa was asked about the comments made by Clark.
“Ryan’s been out of the league for some time, so, I don’t know, it’s a little weird when other people are talking about other people, when they’re not that person,” Tagovailoa said.
“It’s just a little weird. My background, is I come from a Samoan family. Respect is everything. It does get to a point where, Hey, a little easy on that buddy.
“I think we’re tough-minded people, and if we need to get scrappy we can get scrappy too. Just saying.”
On ESPN’s “NFL Live” on Tuesday, Clark, the former Steelers defensive back, quipped that Tagovailoa “might have spent a lot of time at the tattoo table — he was not at the dinner table eating what the fitness trainer had advised. He looks heavy. He is thick.”
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In the Wednesday media availability, Tagovailoa was asked how hard he worked in the offseason.
“I mean I think we all worked hard throughout the offseason,” Tagovailoa said.
“I’m not somebody to talk about myself the entire time, but it takes a lot. You think I wanted to build all this muscle?
“To some extent, I wanted to be a little lighter. There’s a mixture of things that people don’t understand that people don’t know about or talk about that go on behind the scenes.
“I’d appreciate it if you kept my name out your mouth. That’s what I’d say.”
