A Tua Tagovailoa decision is seemingly around the corner.
As the official start of the new NFL year creeps up, the Dolphins will be forced to show their cards with their quarterback of six years and new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said they’re “getting close.”
During a fan event Thursday night, new coach Jeff Hafley and the GM were asked about Tagovailoa’s status and whether the Dolphins will be looking at other quarterbacks in the upcoming draft class.
“Of course, we’ll be looking at other quarterbacks in this draft,” Sullivan said. “And every draft hereafter. But, look, I’ve had — Tua was in my office the other day, if I’m being perfectly frank. We had a great conversation. Tua has been a very good player in this league. He’s done a lot of really good things for the Miami Dolphins. You guys should be proud to have him and having had him.
“I don’t know what the future holds right now, and I told Tua that. We’re working through some things. What I can tell you is that we’re gonna infuse competition into that room, whether Tua is part of the room, whether he’s not part of the room. We’re gonna infuse competition into that room, like we will do in every other position. Tua knows where we are. We’ve been very honest and upfront, and Tua also knows that he will be the first to know when we make a decision. So if Tua is the first to know, you guys can’t be the first to know, and I know that you respect and appreciate that.
“But we’re getting close to a decision. And when we do, we’ll let Tua know whether he’s gonna be part of this or not, and we’ll move forward. But you can rest assured that we will add competition to that room, one way or the other, to make it the best that we can.”
After Sullivan finished, Hafley said, “Yeah, I don’t think I need to add anything.”
Tagovailoa, who has been with Miami since they selected him fifth overall in the 2020 draft, has a ripple effect on the team no matter whether they decide to keep him or extract themselves from his contract.
The Dolphins owe the 27-year-old $54 million for 2026, fully guaranteed, from a four-year, $212 million contract under former GM Chris Grier in 2024.
If they decide to move on from him, Tagovailoa could leave $99 million in cap charges in his wake depending on whether the team does the move pre- or post-June 1.
Waiting until after June 1 to release him would spread the hit over the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
A trade would also mean paying a big amount of the guaranteed salary.
The new league year begins on March 11 and with it comes the start of the free agency. The 2026 NFL Draft then runs from April 23-25.
If the Dolphins keep Tagovailoa, they will have to pay him but they aren’t required to put him under center. However, it seems the challenge around the organization is how they will orchestrate Tagovailoa’s exit
This past season was a rough one for the Dolphins (7-10).
Across 14 games, Tagovailoa tallied 2,660 passing yards for 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions on a 67.7 completion rate. It marked the most interceptions he has thrown ever in an NFL season. He was benched for rookie Quinn Ewers for the final three games of the season.
After back-to-back playoff-less seasons, the Dolphins are turning a new leaf that might include Tagovailoa following the firing of former coach Mike McDaniel, who failed to get a playoff win in his 35-33 tenure.
