Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports wrote about the possibilities that lie ahead for Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa after this season.

Tagovailoa’s contract includes $54 million fully guaranteed in 2026, and he is also due another $3 million guaranteed in March, raising his cap hit to $57 million.

If Miami opted to release him, it would be the biggest dead cap hit in NFL history at $99.2 million. The Dolphins would have to designate Tagovailoa as a June 1st cut to split the dead money between two seasons.

Jones mentions that aside from his contract, there are concerns, such as his injury history and recent comments to the press about a players-only meeting that teammates said never took place.

One anonymous executive told Jones that the best option for Tua is to remain in Miami for another season.

“It may be worth going one more year with him, especially if Mike [McDaniel] is there,” the exec said, via Jones. “He’s going to be there.”

Tagovailoa, 27, was selected with the No. 5 overall pick out of Alabama in 2020 by the Dolphins. He signed a four-year, $30,275,438 rookie contract with a $19,578,501 signing bonus. He earned a base salary of $1,010,000 in the final year of his deal.

The Dolphins picked up Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option worth $23,171,000 for the 2024 season.

From there, the team re-signed him to a four-year deal worth up to $212 million that included $167 million guaranteed.

In 2025, Tagovailoa has appeared in nine games for the Dolphins and completed 67.9 percent of his passes for 1,779 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.

We’ll have more on the Dolphins and Tagovailoa as the news is available.

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