NFL Notes: Tua Tagovailoa, Draft, Expansion

Tua Tagovailoa

• In an interview with Pro Football Talk, Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa said he nearly decided to stay in school for his senior season. He added he found the “Tank For Tua” slogan kind of crazy given declaring for the draft wasn’t a foregone conclusion: “Fans are rooting for [their teams to draft] you and you haven’t even decided you’re going to the NFL yet.” 
• Per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Tagovailoa’s agent Leigh Steinberg said his preference would be for his client to sit for a year before being pressed into action as a starter like another one his clients: “I will tell you that Patrick Mahomes (was) greatly helped … by the fact that he had a year to learn and he learned behind Alex Smith, and Alex Smith was a generous mentor…. My wish for Tua would be that he would go to a team that would give him a year to learn the system and do everything before the pressure of being a starting quarterback was upon him.”
• Tagovailoa plans to attend the Combine for medical evaluations and interviews but will wait until his Pro Day for drills like throwing: “I’m going to go over there looking to win my medical and then go in and interview with the teams. That’s pretty much what I’m going to do. And then hopefully there’s a Pro Day down the line, either late March or early April.” (Andrew Groover)

Draft

• Nicki Jhabvala reports that Colorado LB Davion Taylor has been invited to the NFL Combine.
• According to Jhabvala, Taylor spoke with representatives from 28 NFL teams at the 2020 Senior Bowl. 
• Navy WR Malcolm Perry and N.C. State DE James Smith-Williams received invitations to the Combine. (Tony Pauline)
• North Dakota State DE Derrek Tuszka received an invite to the Combine. (Jhabvala)

Expansion

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made it clear at his state of the league press conference on Wednesday the NFL could consider coming to Toronto if the city were able to build the proper venue. Falcons owner Arthur Blank revealed that rather than move an existing team, the NFL could consider expanding beyond 32 teams with an expansion franchise in the city. That of course has major implications.

“I think it’s a question of just trying to understand expansion and the implications — having it balanced,” Blank said via John Kryk of the Toronto Sun. “You don’t want an odd number of teams; you’d want an even number of teams. How that would fall out [is crucial]. I don’t think anyone questions the size of the Toronto market or the potential of the market. It’s a great market and a great sports city — a great sports city.”