With the 2025 NFL season officially over and most top coaching positions filled, the spotlight will now turn to the league’s annual quarterback carousel.
Among the passers likely to be available is Tua Tagovailoa, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. The Dolphins have long been expected to move on from the 2020 first-round pick as part of a full organizational overhaul, which also featured changes at head coach and general manager.
A trade would be preferable to an outright release for a number of reasons. Cutting Tagovailoa would incur a $99MM dead cap hit, the largest in NFL history. The Dolphins can restructure his deal to push the majority of that dead money into 2027 with a post-June 1 cut, but the extra cap savings would not be available until that date.
Finalizing a trade would allow Miami to part ways with Tagovailoa earlier in the offseason while also reducing the resulting financial impact. It would also get back some kind of return, though the draft compensation in such a deal may be minimal
Miami appears to be willing to eat some of Tagovailoa’s remaining contract to facilitate a trade, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The 27-year-old is owed $54MM in guaranteed money in 2026, comprised of a $39MM salary and a $15MM option bonus (via OverTheCap). Understandably, an acquiring team would not want to pick up that entire tab. But they might be willing to take on part of Tagovailoa’s deal if the Dolphins absorb the rest. In that event, a trade that yields draft picks and a dead cap charge under $99MM would be considered a major success for Miami’s new front office.
The Dolphins seem to be mulling their options as their new leaders step into their jobs. New offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald) that Tagovailoa can “absolutely bounce back,” but the quarterback has not been informed of a decision one way or the other.
I hope to marry Emma Watson but it ain’t happening & neither is a trade for this terrible contract unless serious compensation is attached.
Lmao
3 1st round picks and cash considerations
The real question is what kind of draft compensation would Watson need to date you?
A 5th or 6th rounder at most, depending on her feelings about giant feet & guys who strongly prefer cold weather.
I do not think that I read this comment as being about the same Watson as you did.
@Ak185: lmaoo
Eat most the salary and attach the better pick if you want to get that done.
Who else is really available to play QB in Miami? Can’t see Carr or Cousins being anymore successful. Rodgers will want to go somewhere where he has a shot at winning.
Dolphins are not in a good place.
Malik Willis will be in Miami
Miami has to clear a TON of space to add Willis.
since they won’t cut him and no one is taking on that contract, Kyler for Tua makes sense if you just want a change of pace for each franchise.
Sure, explode the cap hits for both teams and still end up with two mid-level and failing QBs.
all the dolphins want back are a signed burrow and herbert 1/1 rookie cards
As David Justice said in moneyball, “Good luck with that”
The dolphins deserve this headache. It was completely stupid of them to even give this guy that contract in the first place. He literally just had a concussion and most people-professional and not-thought he should have just retired. Yet instead of urging him to do just that, they give him a Deshaun Watson type deal.
Who would even take him though?
Not even Cleveland is that dumb
I mean, they already have a Pro Bowl QB…
Cleveland says they’ll offer 2026 and 2027 first rounders, Myles Garrett and Shadeur Sanders for Tua. That’d be a helluva QB room. Tua and Dumbshawn Watson……. Sorry, I can’t say that with a straight face 🤣🤣
This is about as shocking as Atlanta trying to trade Kirk Cousins last year, and expecting another team to take on $20 million of his salary. 🤣 No one is taking on any of that contract, so they might as well keep him as a veteran backup for this season, or just deactivate him all year to avoid the risk of injury & having to pay him next year. Washington did that back in the day when Kirk Cousins became the starter over RGIII.
Ahh, the good old days of the Washington Redskins when Captain Kirk gave them the biggest comeback win in their history. “You like that!”
Breaking news, water is wet
It’s not a good sign when the PFR writers don’t even want to provide a link to your name…lol.
Do the Jets have any interest in Tua? Or are they planning to tank again for Manning? Next year class should be great. I guess another losing season is something Jets fans are used too
Only the dumbest of the dumb would think the Jets would tank when Buffalo and Miami are both in turmoil.
And I’d rather have the club that I support not have a chairman who socialized with Jeffrey Epstein.
Yeah, good luck with that
I know the joke would be “the Jets”, but honestly no one would trade for him?
The crazy money being thrown at bad Quarterbacks is wild. Stroud is going to get a bag for being trash. Make it make sense.
Stroud posted the highest QBR of his career last year finishing like 11th lmao
Stroud isn’t the issue
Not his fault Collins suffered a concussion against PITT and missed the NE game
Not his fault RT Brown got hurt and that he missed Mixon and Dell all season
Strouds only issue is inconsistency of people around him last 2 years
And the terrible game he played against the Patriots.
Justin Herbert last 3 playoff games
0-3
57% comp
2 TDs
4 ints
3 fumbles
Yall quiet as church mice about Herbert but quick to criticize Cj stroud. Wonder why that is
Youre right … Herbert has been bad. Yet everybody bashes Tua Tags. Maybe the concussions are affecting his play, but he is tough to want to keep going. I feel he is not done yet and needs a coach to keep pushing him. Herbert and Stroud have to get better themselves. Their defenses are championship worthy.