Julian Edelman slams Tua Tagovailoa's blame game, questions Dolphins' locker room culture

Julian Edelman criticized Tua Tagovailoa for publicly blaming his teammates after the Miami Dolphins’ Week 6 loss to the Chargers.

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Tua Tagovailoa in the frame.

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Edelman said the Dolphins "aren't culture guys," adding that internal issues should stay behind closed doors.

The Patriots legend compared Miami’s locker room dynamic to his time in New England, saying "we never did that."

Julian Edelman called out Tua Tagovailoa following his comments blaming his teammates after their 29-27 defeat to the Chargers in Week 6.

The three-time Super Bowl champion compared the Miami Dolphins' locker room situation to his own career in the league while raising questions on the team's culture under Mike McDaniels.

"We never did that (blame each other)," Edelman said Friday on Colin Cowherd's show (Timestamp-5:50). "If there was ever a problem, you handle that, closed doors with the team. We never talked about contracts, we never talked about drama. And we had drama. That's honestly the way you're supposed to do it because then it becomes a distraction to the team.

 

 

"I think the Dolphins are just fundamentally designed this way. You bring in a bunch of guys that aren't culture guys. When stuff's hitting the fan, who's gonna be the serious guy. So, I think they're just fundamentally wrong on how they're built. I think we got to take a look at who's building the team. Because, look, we paid Tua after, you know, he's been hurt a bunch. We bring in Tyreek Hill. We all know what he is off the field.

 

 

"These are your best players. Who are their core nucleus guys? We don't know. They never really had them. So I think this was a terrible way to handle it because if there is a drama, you keep that in between your building, your meeting rooms and you don't bring it out to the public."

 

 

After their defeat against the Chargers, the Dolphins have put up a shameful 1-4 record so far this season.

In the post-game press conference, Tua Tagovailoa slammed his teammates for not attending the player meetings at all. The quarterback also said that the leadership in the team had to lay down their expectations and urge the players to meet those expectations.

"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 on Sunday. We have guys showing up to players-only meetings late, guys not showing up to players-only meetings. There's a lot that goes into that. Do we have to make this mandatory?"

 

 

Tua Tagovailoa apologizes for his comments after Week 6 defeat to the Chargers

During Wednesday's press conference, Tua Tagovailoa and the comments that he made.

"I've made a mistake and I'm owning up to the right now," Tagovailoa said. "I've talked to guys on the team about it, talked to the leaders about it. They know my heart. They know that the intent was right. The intent can right, but when things get misconstrued or however the media wants to portray it, it leaves a void of silence and a lot of questions for the guys on our team."

 

 

Tua Tagovailoa is currently in the midst of his four-year $212.4 million extension, which he penned in July 2024. In six games so far in this season, he registered 1,213 yards and 11TDs passing with seven interceptions to his name.

The Dolphins are set to face the Cleveland Browns on October 19 at 1:00 ET.

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