Tua Tagovailoa entered the past five Dolphins seasons with out a threat to his starting job. If he’s to return to Miami — and because it stands, it appears more likely than not he won’t — one other starter-caliber quarterback will probably be in the combination.
Recent GM Jon-Eric Sullivan assured fans at an event Thursday the team is nearing a choice on Tagovailoa’s Dolphins future. While the team is aiming to trade its longtime starter, an enormous dead money bill — and the QB’s shaky play as of late — bring roadblocks.
“I don’t know what the long run holds without delay, and I told Tua that,” Sullivan said (via the SoFlo Sports Show’s Ashley Dominguez) of a recent conversation with the passer. “What I can let you know is we’re gonna infuse competition into that room, whether Tua’s a part of that room or whether he’s not a part of that room. We’re getting near a choice, and once we do, we’re gonna let Tua know whether he’s gonna be a part of this or not.”
Essentially the most recent report of a trade pursuit indicated the Dolphins will probably be able to eat a few of the quarterback’s 2026 compensation to facilitate a trade. Considering Tagovailoa is due $54MM guaranteed in 2026, the Dolphins may have to eat a large chunk of that cash to persuade a team to tackle the previous NFL passing leader. Tagovailoa is due a $39MM base salary; that will probably be a nonstarter for teams considering his 2025 play.
Coming over from the Packers, Sullivan is believed to have interest in bringing Green Bay backup Malik Willis to Miami. Sullivan has observed Willis up close for 2 seasons, but he could have company in pursuing the previous third-round pick.
Willis has elevated his profile as Jordan Love‘s backup, and while it shouldn’t be considered a certainty Willis will probably be an upgrade on Tagovailoa, a handful of teams are in search of a bridge option. The Browns and Steelers are believed to be two other interested parties. The Cardinals, Jets and Vikings are also in the combination for veteran help. The Colts technically are as well, but it surely is widely assumed they are going to re-sign Daniel Jones. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are in the identical boat because the Dolphins; they wish to move Kyler Murray in a trade.
Each Tagovailoa and Murray were prolonged under previous GMs — Chris Grier and Steve Keim, respectively — and each would tag teams with substantial dead money. If the Dolphins were to trade Tua without taking up any salary, they’d be hit with $45.2MM in dead money. That’s unrealistic. It might likely take Miami picking up much of the tab, thus inflating that hit. The Broncos designated Russell Wilson as a post-June 1 cut in 2024, allowing them to spread his record-setting dead cap number ($84.6MM) over two years. If the Dolphins traded Tagovailoa before June 1, they’d tackle all of the dead cap in a single yr. That may hamstring Sullivan in his first offseason, one which can also be expected to incorporate a Tyreek Hill post-June 1 release designation.
Dead money caused the Dolphins to attend until after June 1 to trade Jalen Ramsey last yr, and so they have made some painful post-June 1 designations (Byron Jones, Xavien Howard) within the recent past. A post-June 1 Tagovailoa cut, nevertheless, would smash the Wilson dead money mark and leave $99.2MM over the following two years for the Dolphins to handle. Naturally, the brand new regime is willing to eat money in a trade to avoid that scenario.
If the Dolphins rode out Tagovailoa’s 2026 guarantee, the Sullivan-Jeff Hafley regime could move on easier in 2027. No guaranteed money is on the deal after this coming season. Just greater than $31MM in dead money would come Miami’s way in total in a 2027 release scenario, and a post-June 1 designation would bring $40MM in cap savings. The Dolphins could also hope a return to earlier form would generate a trade market come 2027.
Benched before Week 16, Tagovailoa would welcome a fresh start. Zach Wilson is unsigned, however the Dolphins have Quinn Ewers contracted through 2028. Will the ex-Packers power brokers be OK extending this relationship for yet another yr? Recent regimes generally are less concerned with dead money on holdover players. It can be interesting to see links between Tagovailoa and other teams emerge. At his best, the left-handed QB can be an upgrade for some. But on his $53.1MM-per-year contract, the Dolphins are potentially looking at one other sunk cost from a Grier extension.