Could Dolphins Move On From Tua Tagovailoa? Analyzing the QB's Massive Contract

The Dolphins will start rookie Quinn Ewers in Tua's place.

Tagovailoa's play in the 2025 season has been less than steller. / Rich Storry-Imagn Images

The Dolphins made the understandable but shocking decision on Wednesday to bench franchise quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has decidedly not played his best ball this campaign.

The 27-year-old currently ranks 30th out of 33 in overall QBR on the season (37.7), above only Cam Ward, Geno Smith and J.J. McCarthy, and has thrown a whopping 15 interceptions, the most in the league so far. Meanwhile, Miami sits at 6–8 on the season, and was eliminated from the playoffs on Monday following an abysmal performance against a well-prepared Steelers squad.

So, you can see what head coach Mike McDaniel (who previously made clear that this benching was a possibility) was thinking. But the Dolphins also signed Tagovailoa to a four-year, $212.4 million extension over the 2024 offseason, which means they will have a very expensive backup on their hands should he never start again.

That in mind, let's take a look at the specifics of the quarterback's contract and the possible options the front office has to get out from under his deal in the years to come.

Tua's $212.4 million contract

As things stand, Tagovailoa is tied to Miami through 2026, with $54 million fully guaranteed next season. A $3 million portion of his 2027 salary will also become guaranteed on the third day of the 2026 league year.

If the team were to cut him over the offseason, it would set a new record cap hit of $99.2 million, as NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted back in November. That's a lot of money—and more than the Broncos took on when they cut Russell Wilson for a cap hit of $85 million.

If the quarterback is designated as a post-June 1 cut, though, the Dolphins could spread that bombshell hit out a bit—$67.4 million of dead money in 2026, then $31.8 million in 2027, per Rapoport.

There is also the option of a trade. If that came before June 1, it would leave $45.2 million of dead money against the team's cap. But perhaps the "most viable" option, as Rapoport wrote at the time, would be to pay down some of that salary in the offseason, then trade Tua to a team that (1) needs a transition starter or (2) has a young QB they'd like to sit and train for a year.

Whatever the team decides, it will be expensive.

Ewers, a Texas product, will make his first start against the Bengals on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

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