Projected top-10 NFL Draft 2020 pick Tua Tagovailoa, who has drawn concerns due to his durability, has two members of the media in a serious feud.
The Athletic’s Mike Lombardi reported in early April that the Alabama quarterback had failed two physicals from teams and had broken his wrist the first day of spring practice one year. The report is one of many attacks against Tagovailoa in the leadup to the draft, though most have come under the cloak of anonymity.
And WFAN’s Boomer Esiason publicly took issue with Lombardi, who also is a host for VSiN, and his reporting on Tagovailoa.
“Who the hell is Mike Lombardi to be reporting that Tua had broken a wrist in spring practice and then re-broke it? How does he find out that information?” Esiason, 59, said on his WFAN and CBS Sports Network morning show, according to The Big Lead.
“Because he’s close friend with Nick Saban? Is Nick Saban giving Mike Lombardi that information so Mike Lombardi can go running out there and just absolutely try to discredit the kid? I find something wrong with that. I understand that Lombardi and Mike Tannebaum both, they’re in the media now. They were on the other side, now they’re on the dark side. They have contacts, they have information, they use that information, I get all of that stuff.
“I do think there’s a violation here, somewhere along the line, that somebody is outing players and their health issues when those things should be kept private, I think.”
Lombardi, who served in various roles for five different NFL teams over a 32-year career and is a Bill Belichick confidant, actively defended himself after replaying the clip of Esiason’s comments on his “GM Shuffle” podcast.
“Boomer can say whatever the f–k he wants. I could give a s–t,” Lombardi, 60, quipped about the former Jets quarterback. “I know he’s on TV and all that crap, he’s got his own show. That’s great. At some point, you owe it to the people that are listening to your show to be informed. You need to be informed. What I’m saying has nothing to do with trying to discredit a kid.
“How am I discrediting the kid? The kid got hurt. Everybody in the National Football League knows about him. If Boomer watched football on Saturday afternoons, he would know the kid got hurt, too. It’s documented knowledge. And my job, your job, and anybody’s job who talks to the fans is to educate the fans. All we’re trying to do is bring them behind the scenes and understand how teams process injuries.
“…But the reality was, I never talked to Nick Saban. I don’t need to talk to Nick Saban about his f–king injuries! They’re out there. They’re living proof. At some point, what do you owe your audience? You just gonna tell them how great you were, that you threw it to Eddie Brown? I mean, seriously. At some point you’re supposed to educate the people that are listening to you, so you take a shot at me? Because I’m trying to tell people about what the process is behind the draft?… But he don’t know a f–king thing about the draft! He doesn’t understand how it works. And yet he’s educating people.”
Lombardi, whose last NFL gig was as an assistant to the Patriots coaching staff from 2014 to 2016, also claimed that Esiason would never have attacked his report if it came from ESPN’s Adam Schefter or Field Yates.
“He and Adam are buddies,” Lombardi said. “He’s got f–king Jason La Canfora on his show on Sunday mornings, breaking information, and that’s okay? He’s discrediting coaches that are going to get fired and that’s okay? But if I report something that’s actually facts, that people are really worrying about drafting a kid, it has nothing to do with the kid.”
The main concern about Tagovailoa’s health revolves around a serious hip injury suffered in a Nov. 16 win over Mississippi State. It cost him the rest of Alabama’s season and from participating in any workouts at the NFL Combine. Though all reports from the doctors treating him have been positive, NFL skepticism remains and Oregon star Justin Herbert may be selected as the second quarterback in the draft behind LSU star Joe Burrow.
Esiason and co-host Gregg Giannotti addressed Lombardi’s rebuttal on their show Tuesday morning. Esiason stood by his initial belief that Lombardi violated some sort of confidentiality laws.
“No, it’s not documented knowledge. Not the knowledge you dropped on everybody, that he broke two wrists… Yes, everybody is worried and concerned about his injury history, then all of a sudden Mike decided to drop he broke his wrist twice. Nobody had ever heard [that],” said Esiason. “Number one, I think wherever he got that from, he violated confidentiality laws.
“Somebody told him something that they shouldn’t have told him, or it was inaccurate, and that he didn’t break his wrist. The second thing that he did is that he basically said a number of teams have failed him on his physical. To me, that’s also a violation of confidentiality.”
Lombardi made a point to send an open invitation for Esiason to appear on “GM Shuffle” to properly discuss their differences.
“The fact that he became as unhinged as he did, maybe that’s why he’s not working for a team anymore. I don’t know,” Esiason said in a potential parting shot.