After quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was benched in December and demoted to third string, many assumed his future with the Miami […]
After quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was benched in December and demoted to third string, many assumed his future with the Miami Dolphins was sealed. However, as a new general manager and head coach take over, reports suggest the team could move in a different direction.
According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the new Dolphins regime is considering bringing Tua Tagovailoa back for the 2026 NFL season. The team’s preference would be to trade him during the offseason, even if it means eating a significant portion of the money owed to the quarterback.
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Tagovailoa remains under contract through the next three seasons, carrying a $56.267 million cap hit in 2026 with a $39 million base salary. Even cutting him with a post-June 1 designation would leave a $67.4 million dead cap hit this season and a $31.8 million dead cap hit in 2027, according to Spotrac.
Even with the looming release of All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill—which would free up $22.8 million in cap space if done before March 11—Miami cannot really afford to cut Tagovailoa and still have money left over to improve the roster. However, the club is also in a bit of a no-win situation because quarterback-needy teams are aware of the contract’s burden and the ramifications for Miami regardless of whether Tagovailoa is released or kept on the roster.
The situation could unfold similarly to the Brock Osweiler trade in 2017. The Houston Texans traded Osweiler and a 2018 second-round pick to the Cleveland Browns in a swap that essentially served as a “salary dump,” with the Browns receiving draft capital in exchange for taking on Osweiler’s contract.
For now, the Dolphins seem to be leaking a willingness to keep Tua Tagovailoa in hopes that it provides them with some form of leverage in trade negotiations. This strategy is highly unlikely to work, and it will likely result in Miami packaging a draft pick with Tagovailoa and paying a portion of his salary to move him.
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