Before joining the Dolphins in 2022, offensive tackle Terron Armstead played his first nine seasons with the Saints.
That means he got an up-close, day-to-day view of quarterbacks Drew Brees and Tua Tagovailoa before electing to retire this offseason.
In an interview with the Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday, Armstead noted why he feels like Brees and Tagovailoa have plenty of similar qualities — though Armstead did acknowledge Tagovailoa has plenty more to prove.
“I see similarities. I’m not saying they’re the same player or same person, no two people are,” Armstead told Eisen. “The anticipation, the accuracy, timing of throws, the ability to knock a wing off a fly repeatedly. Those guys throw darts. They don’t throw to areas, they are very precise. And that’s an elite talent, it’s an elite trait. Very few people possess [it]. He’s one of them and Drew Brees is another.”
Why hasn’t Tagovailoa been able to put it all together?
“I would say time on task,” Armstead said. “Having more experience, getting more reps, getting more snaps. I don’t know exactly where Drew Brees was going into his sixth year. I know he had a shoulder that had to get reconstructed when he signed to New Orleans and really pushed his career even further, to be the Hall of Famer player that he was.”
Brees signed with the Saints in the 2006 offseason, leading up to his sixth year. He’d been a Pro Bowler in 2004, but in 2005 had completed 64.6 percent of his throws for 3,576 yards with 24 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
But while Brees’ shoulder was a significant question before he signed with New Orleans, he had also started at least 15 games three times in his career. To this point, Tagovailoa has reached that mark just once — in 2023, when he started all 17 contests.
Part of Tagovailoa’s lack of availability has been his tendency to take unnecessary risks, which is an issue he’s still working through. But…
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