New Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan announced that the team is exploring all options regarding Tua Tagovailoa. In layman’s terms, the Dolphins would likely try to move on from Tua to avoid a huge dead cap hit if they had to cut him.
It’s not a surprising move for Miami. Tua has had a tough season in the Aqua and Orange divisions over the past few seasons. 2025 was a particularly tough year, with significant declines in completion percentage, total yards, yards per attempt, QBR, and passer rating. He also had a career high in interceptions, had just one more touchdown than the year before, and played in three more games.
I truly don’t blame you if you no longer believe in Tua. Miami continues to find content for Quinn Ewers in Tua. Quinn Ewers didn’t set the world on fire or dig around in the Malik Willis sweepstakes if he could get away with Tua’s massive contract. I think moving on from Tagovailoa was the right move for the Dolphins, but I’m not a complete fan of him as an NFL player.
Tua’s biggest concern is his health. He has had a laundry list of injuries during his NFL career, but was only truly absent last season when he was benched at the end of the season. I said it was a down year for Tua, but he showed some flashes, including a four-touchdown outing against the Falcons and a three-touchdown, 265-yard performance against the Panthers.
Also, the dolphin wasn’t just a giant monster that was held captive by Tua. Last season, they had the 29th-ranked offensive line according to PFF, whose No. 1 receiver, Tyreek Hill, missed most of the year with an ACL injury and whose defense rarely set him up in good field position. Mike McDaniel is known as the master of the offense, but not even he can produce anything that matches this offense.
I’m not a team willing to eat up his $50 million salary in a trade, but I’m willing to give him one more chance if the Dolphins cut him. Across the NFL, we see players getting second chances and succeeding when placed in better situations. Tua led the NFL in passing yards in 2023 and also ranked in the top 10 in QBR. He is only 27 years old. If a team like the Vikings can get a hold of him, I think he could give you a bounce-back year.
Sam Darnold may be blindsided by what he just did, but I think someone should give Tua one last chance.
