Omar Kelly: How many interceptions? Tagovailoa, Dolphins offense struggle in first minicamp session.

DAVIE, Fla. — Growth isn’t always going to be pretty or comfortable.

Right now it’s obvious that Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is undergoing some growing pains.

If you view these minicamp practices, which began Tuesday, as a job interview for vacant positions on the Dolphins’ starting lineup, I’m not certain Tagovailoa’s play on Tuesday would deserve a callback.

While there were difficult circumstances — like the monsoon that lingered throughout the Dolphins’ first of two minicamp practices sessions — there’s no justification for throwing five interceptions during one practice. But that’s what Tagovailoa delivered in his first helmet-on work against the Dolphins’ defense as the team’s unquestioned starting quarterback.

In total, the Dolphins’ defense, which led the NFL in turnovers last season, pulled down eight interceptions during Tuesday’s practice, taking advantage of the soggy turf and a wet football that prevented solid footing and produced slippery passes.

“Today, the emphasis for us quarterbacks is we wanted to be aggressive within the pass game. We wanted to see if we can fit throws in, what throws we can make under these conditions. We wanted to see what vertical throws we could make,” said Tagovailoa, who had a 87.1 passer rating while leading Miami to a 6-3 record last season. “There were some plays that didn’t go our way, but those are plays we can take a look at in the film room and move forward with.”

Rainy conditions, poor footing, wet ball, tipped passes, troublesome communication, lackluster chemistry with the intended target, experimentation, whatever the excuse is, spare me.

The offensive coordinator was changed because of Tagovailoa’s frosty relationship with Chan Gailey, and a new playbook is being tailor-made around Tagovailoa’s skill set.

The offensive line continues to be fortified through the selection of two more linemen in the draft — and the signing of three veterans who started NFL games last season — with the hopes of providing Tagovailoa better protection.

The Dolphins’ offense has more playmakers this camp than the franchise has had in two, if not three decades.

This offseason has been about addressing the excuses before they get made. So don’t start making them now.

No team can survive a game where their quarterback throws five interceptions, so it shouldn’t be tolerated. Nor excused, even during practice.

Not even for quarterbacks with resumes as impressive as Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady.

“If there is a time to make mistakes, now is the time to make a mistake,” Tagovailoa said. “We want to see what we can fit in the hole, and what we throw into coverages. Come in the film room and learn from it.”

Let us hope Tuesday’s struggles never happen again, and that Tagovailoa keeps building off these experiences, growing from them because year two needs to deliver growth, and plenty of it.

You want me to tell you Tagovailoa, whom the Dolphins selected at No. 5 in the 2020 draft, is going to be good. That he’s going to fix all of the Dolphins’ problems, and be this franchise’s savior.

I cannot in good faith say that right now, no matter how much I believe in Tagovailoa, and I do.

At this time, in this moment, he doesn’t seem ready for that responsibility. Tuesday’s practice stacks up more evidence of this.

Maybe he will be in time ... a season or two from now.

Hell, look how much former Dolphins starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill developed away from South Florida. Now you could argue that he’s one of the NFL’s top five quarterbacks.

I wouldn’t! But it can be discussed, and he’s safely among the top 10.

What Tagovailoa needs is the same kind of patience we had with Tannehill, who was staunchly defended by the Patience Brigade in his six seasons as a starter in Miami.

Let’s give Tagovailoa three before we determine who and what he is.

So what? Practice one of season two didn’t go well.

Big deal. He’ll have many more opportunities to fix the issues and address what happened.

As Tagovailoa so eloquently pointed out after Tuesday’s session, that’s what practice is for. This is when you’re quarterback is supposed to try to make bold throws, seeing if he can thread the needle against a defense that knows the offense’s playbook.

If he can manage that then it only gets easier from there, and let us hope and pray that’s the case for Tagovailoa. And that he’ll come out for Wednesday’s session — the final of the offseason program — still slinging it, but with far less generosity.