Tua Tagovailoa deserved his extension based on how the Dolphins treated him

Brian Flores clearly held Tua Tagovailoa back

Tagovailoa's second year in the NFL should have been a step in the right direction, but it wasn't. He missed three games after getting blown out by the Bills in Week 2 and then missed another game in Week 9. Injury concerns started to become the water-cooler talk around the league and his play on the field wasn't consistent.

Winds started to blow that the Dolphins were looking to make a blockbuster trade with the Houston Texans for DeShaun Watson. Tua was on the way out. Reports of noticeable friction between Flores and Tagovailoa continued to grow and get louder, and at one point, it was reported that the two had a shouting match.

Throughout the year, when he was playing, there was clear vitriol coming from Flores. It was evident that the support for the youngster was non-existent. That friction carried over onto the field, and on the night of the NFL trade deadline, it all came crashing to a halt.

Reports were everywhere that Stephen Ross spoke with Watson personally to tell him the team was not going to make the trade. Tua was the quarterback, but it remained a question of how long. Even long after Flores was gone, his ghosts would linger with a report just this year that he lobbied for an entirely different draft in 2020.