Internet Doctors Clip to Sound Like Tua Wants to Go on Vacation After 20-12 Loss to Texans

Sunday's 20-12 loss to the Houston Texans all but eliminated the Miami Dolphins from playoff contention and very likely put a final nail in the coffin that is the franchise's current roster makeup. Many of the players you see over the season's final three games won't be in a Dolphins uniform next season, and it's becoming more likely that head coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier should join them on their way out the door.

While they'd never admit it, most players' significant others are probably locking in airfare and hotel accommodations for their vacation destinations to prepare for this season's merciful end. But don't tell Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa that. He wants to see who in the locker room wants to stick around out of pure pride.

He said as much following the loss to the Texans when asked what the team's mindset would be for the rest of the campaign. "For us to say, 'Let's go plan our trip to Cabo' or, 'Let's plan our trip to Mexico' — you really start to see the guys that want to be in the locker room," Tua said.

🎥 Tua Tagovailoa on the team's mindset for the rest of the season: "For us to say let's go plan our trip to Cabo or let's plan our trip to Mexico, you really start to see the guys that want to be in the locker-room." (@MiamiDolphins) #GoFins pic.twitter.com/a8mI2uKNpn

— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) December 15, 2024

First off, Those are very specific examples! We'll have our eyes on Instagram to see if those are actually the Tagovailoa family's plans leaking out. But as the internet tends to do, it chopped up the Tua quote to make it sound as if he was saying just the opposite: that the squad's mindset should turn to planning their offseason travel.

Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but when an account like @_MLFootball, which boasts 300,000-plus followers, does it, the truth gets a wee bit fuzzy. Chances are Tua's comments came across zillions of "For You" timelines this way, and that plenty of folks believe that's what he actually said.

TUA TAGOVAILOA SAYS THE TEAM WILL BE GOING ON VACATION WHEN ASKED WHERE THE TEAM SHOULD GO FROM HERE.

“LET’S GO PLAN OUR TRIP TO CABO OR MEXICO”

😭😭😭
pic.twitter.com/n7ypIn8LQT

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 15, 2024

Shoutout to the community notes on the platform formerly known as Twitter for pointing out that "[t]he video is edited to not show what Tua was actually saying" and linking to the full quote. Who knows where we'd be these days if not for those guardrails?

True or not — families and friends of the Dolphins players might as well get to offseason planning because whatever slim hopes the Dolphins had of making the postseason went up in smoke on Sunday. Had Miami won, chances of clinching a playoff spot would have improved to 32 percent. According to ESPN, those odds sit at 5 percent courtesy of the ignominy in Houston, and even that feels high. 

On the other hand, chances are high that in these final three weeks, we'll see a Dolphins team coming to grips with the reality that only one season removed from being the darlings of the NFL, they're back to where they've been for most (if not all) of our lifetimes: a seven- or eight-win team watching more hardened clubs compete for a Super Bowl berth, likely from a comfy offseason destination of their choice.