NFL Notes: Tua Tagovailoa, Draft, Regular Season

Tua Tagovailoa

Former Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa‘s road to the NFL hit another snag with the closures mandated from the COVID-19 pandemic affecting both his personal pro day set for April 9 and medical re-checks before the draft on April 23. However, Tagovailoa has tried to alleviate some of that concern by posting videos of him dropping back and throwing for the first time since the injury. The hope is that combined with his positive reports since the Combine will keep him in the top of the draft. 

“He’s moving really, really well,” Chris Cabott, one Tagovailoa’s agents, said via AL.com’s Mike Rodak. “He’s really turned the corner. … To this point, we don’t have any medical concerns. Obviously in any given situation, it’s a day-by-day situation, but his road to return has not been interrupted.”

• Per Yahoo Sports’ Eric Edholm, Cabott says his client is, “fully cleared and ready to compete without any restrictions.” 
• ESPN’s Laura Rutledge says the belief right now is that Tagavailoa would be able to play whenever the NFL season begins. 

Draft

• According to Matt Miller of Bleacher Report, “multiple teams” rank Oregon QB Justin Herbert over Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa.
• Albert Breer of SI believes that Alabama WR Henry Ruggs III has the capability to sneak past teammate Jerry Jeudy or Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb on draft day.
• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes that there will likely be several technological upgrades for the draft, and the possibility could exist that there are fewer trades due to the logistics of the event. Fowler also says that commissioner Roger Goodell still plans to be involved in announcing the picks.

Regular Season

• Gary Myers of the New York Times reports the NFL is still planning on having a full 16-game season even if it means delaying the start of the season. 
• Myers acknowledges the NFL has not yet discussed contingency plans with teams which is an important step. 
• NFL exec Jeff Pash told reporters the league is optimistic it will still be able to play its scheduled international games in 2020. He added the league meetings from May 18-20 in California are also still on the calendar for now. (Tom Pelissero)