Tua Tagovailoa 'appreciative' of coach's endorsement amid Deshaun Watson rumors

It can't be easy for Tua Tagovailoa to keep hearing the Miami Dolphins are the "front-runners" in the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes. But, at least he has an endorsement from head coach Brian Flores.

Flores told the press on Wednesday Tagovailoa is "our quarterback." While a phrase like that doesn't hold much water on its own, Miami's current QB1 at least seems happy to hear it.

"I think it means a lot with it coming from the head coach," Tagovailoa told reporters Wednesday, via ProFootballTalk. "The support that I have from him and from the team, it means a lot. But for me, I’m just focused literally on trying to get our guys ready for next week."

While that reaction appears sincere, anyone who follows major sports can tell you Tagovailoa's comments aren't exactly electrifying. Most athletes claim to not pay attention to off-field chatter, even if they actually do. 

"I’m one of those guys that doesn’t have cable," Tagovailoa said with a laugh. "I’m not able to turn on my TV and watch what’s going on to see the news and whatnot. Now obviously I know social media is a big deal but really, I only hear about those things either from my agents or if it comes from (someone in the building) or if Coach wants to sit down and talk to me about things like that. That’s kind of how I find out a lot of the talk that’s going on."

Sports Illustrated reported the Dolphins and Texans have chatted in the last week, but that Houston hasn't seen a deal they like yet. It is also being reported the Texans are in no hurry to trade Watson despite the ongoing off-field lawsuits that have made his trade value plummet. 

As ProFootballTalk points out, Tagovailoa can silence the chatter for the time being with a strong showing in the opening weeks of the season. If he can't meet expectations, however, the Watson talk could return ahead of the Nov. 2 trade deadline -- which falls just before the Dolphins host the Texans, no less.