The Dolphins hope there is anyone willing to give up anything for Tua Tagovailoa.
With the veteran quarterback’s future in Miami murky following two disappointing years, the latter resulting in Mike McDaniel’s ouster this offseason, the Dolphins are attempting to set their offseason strategy for how they will handle the game’s most important position.
Miami’s most desirable outcome would be to trade Tagovailoa, according to the Miami Herald, and they could potentially keep him if they find no keepers.
The Dolphins would prefer they do not release him and take the massive cap hit.
“I’d be surprised if Tua is in Miami,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport told Jim Rome on Wednesday. “I think they can trade him, but they’re going to eat a lot of the contract do that…”
Tagovailoa has three more years on the four-year, $212.4 million contract extension he signed prior to the 2024 season, but it seems very likely he won’t see that deal through.
The Dolphins benched him for seventh-rounder Quinn Ewers at the end of the year, and he even acknowledged he could use a fresh start.
“I would be good with it,” he said after the season ended.
The team’s new front office structure of general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley will now have to make the pivotal call on how to proceeed.
Tagovailoa carries a $56.3 million cap it for next year, per spotrac.com, which is more than his play is worth after last year’s 20-touchdown, 15-interception showing.
Miami would surely love to move him since it would save $11.1 million with a pre-June 1 trade and $42.9 million trade post-June 1, but his contract and play doesn’t make him appealing.
There’s always that one team that could do something unwise, but there are a lot of factors working against a potential deal.
That would leave the Dolphins with the option to either cut him or keep him.
A source told the Miami Herald that the team has considered keeping him, but usually comments from a player saying they’d be good to be traded are an indication that they’ve come to the end of the road.
Cutting him before June 1 would leave the team with a dead cap hit of $99.2 million, while doing so after June 1 would spread that amount across 2026 ($67.4 million) and 2027 ($31.8 million).
How Miami proceeds at quarterback will largely decide whether the team is involved in the hunt for the No. 1 pick in the hyped 2027 NFL Draft, which will include quarterback Arch Manning.
Rapoport said Miami will sign another quarterback this offseason, mentioning Green Bay free agent Malik Willis, but it’s unknown of it will be a backup or starter type.