Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa’s Tattoo And Body Continues To Expand

Tua Tagovailoa has intentionally put on weight and muscle this offseason, and his new sleeve tattoo showcases that growth

The NFL will have to deal with a tattooed version of Tua Tagovailoa in 2023.

The Miami Dolphins’ starting quarterback’s right shoulder was tatted up back in June, when the team wrapped minicamp.

It appears the 25-year-old quarterback used the break from football to have the tattoo on his right arm, which pays homage to his Polynesian culture, expanded.

Based on a snippet caught in one of his recent social media posts, Tagovailoa's tattoo has reached his right wrist. He’s either concluded a sleeve, or is in the process of finishing one.

When discussing his new body art recently, Tagovailoa said he’s paying homage to his Polynesian (Samoa) culture, mimicking the style of tattoo The Rock, a famous Somoan actor, has.

Back in the day those with Polynesian heritage who had a tattoo on their right shoulder were warriors and chiefs.

But the tattoo isn’t the only physical change we’ve seen from Tagovailoa in 2023.

Tagovailoa has bulked up

Tagovailoa is thick now.

His calves are thick. His neck is thick. His shoulders are broader, and the weight gain isn’t the emergence of a dad bod.

He’s been intentional about his strength gains, and building a better frame, a stronger neck and core because the goal for 2023 is for the NFL’s top rated quarterback from 2022 to be large, and in charge, putting him in position to showcase his maturity for an entire season.

The hope this season is for Tagovailoa, who owns a 21-13 win-loss record as a starter, can stay healthy for an entire season.

That might help him take that next step, showcasing more command of Mike McDaniel’s offense, which will help him enter the stratosphere of NFL elite quarterbacks.

Tagovailoa missed five games last season, which included Miami’s playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round after suffering his second concussion in a December loss to the Green Bay Packers.

This offseason he’s studied jiu-jitsu to learn how to fall better. He’s experimenting with a new helmet, which is supposed to carry the force of blows to the head better, and he’s bulked up to endure more hits.

Tagovailoa’s trainer Nick Hicks recently said the weight gain is mostly muscle, pointing out Tagovailoa is at 10 percent body fat.

“Strength work has been really big throughout this offseason for me with getting my legs under me, kind of building my upper body, building around my neck, my core,” Tagovailoa said. “All of that has been taken into consideration. And I’ve been doing a lot more to try to help myself sustain the season.”

Growth in offense expected

Before the offseason program wrapped, McDaniel said everything he’s seen this offseason from Tagovailoa hints that he’s ready to take the next step forward in Miami’s offense.

“It’s been really cool in a year’s time, how he’s not only learned the language [of the offense] but is now fluent in it,” McDaniel said. “That opens quarterbacks up to doing some of the components of the job – it’s really hard to try to be the leader of an offense and motivate guys and encourage guys when you need to or maybe be hard on guys when you need to, when you’re just trying to spit out a play and know your own assignment.”