How Should Dolphins Fans Treat Tua's Return to Hard Rock Stadium? (And Why Is It Even a Topic?)

Tua Tagovailoa is arguably (probably) the most polarizing player in Miami Dolphins history, so it figures that his return to Hard Rock Stadium would produce some debate.

At issue is what kind of reception Tagovailoa should expect to receive from those who will attend the preseason finale, specifically whether he should be booed or cheered.

There probably would be a lot more national attention on this event if this were the regular season, but the Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons aren't scheduled to face each other in 2026.

There's also no point of reference because Tua will become the first longtime Dolphins starting quarterback to return to South Florida to face the team. Then again, the Dolphins had had only three of those before Tua — Bob Griese, Dan Marino and Ryan Tannehill.

Griese and Marino spent their entire career with the Dolphins, while Tannehill's only game against the Dolphins after he left the team was played in Tennessee — the Titans' 34-3 rout of Miami in the next-to-last game of the 2021 regular season.

WHY IS TUA'S RETURN AND THE REACTION A BIG DEAL?

While a segment of fans would like any Tua topic to be done and over with, the reality is he remains relevant in Dolphins world, first because he was a high draft pick and once viewed as the franchise quarterback and also because he's got a major impact on the 2026 Miami team with a salary cap number that's almost double that of any other player — his $55.4 million figure dwarfing the $28.2 million cap number of released wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

Releasing Tua was the first major move made by the Dolphins' new regime of GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley, and his post-Miami career also will be relevant if he enjoys any kind of success in 2026 considering he could have been kept as a backup to Malik Willis for roughly the same cap space.

So, yeah, Tua's return to Miami is a big deal, preseason or not.

TO BOO OR NOT TO BOO TUA?

This is an entirely different conversation that should begin and end with the idea that paying customers have the right to express their feelings — as long as no lines are crossed.

That there would be a mix of opinions when it comes to booing Tua or saluting him should have been a given all along considered there were polar opposite views of him while he was playing for the Dolphins.

As to why Tua would be booed, it says here that the idea of showing displeasure simply for his uneven 2024 performance and even more disappointing 2025 showing shouldn't be reason enough. That applies to any player who does things the right way on and off the field and simply doesn't perform up to standards.

And in Tua's case, it also shouldn't be forgotten that he did have two very successful seasons in 2022 and 2023, and those should be acknowledged regardless of how one views him as a quarterback, even those who would suggest he was the beneficiary of a favorable scheme with speed to spare with Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert, De'Von Achane (for 2023) and others.

If Tua does get booed Friday night — and the thought is it will be a mixed reaction with probably more boos than cheers — it likely will have more to do with what happened outside of games.

For example, in a tweet that had reached more than 300,000 views as of Friday morning, Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post suggested that Tua shouldn't be booed because, among other things, he wasn't the one who gave him that contract extension.

True, but Tua is the one who said in the offseason that "the market is the market," making it clear he wasn't going to play ball, so to speak, to make sure he stayed with the Dolphins long term. Tua also was the one who staged a "hold-in" in the offseason and training camp.

And Tua also was the one who, after getting that ill-fated extension, gyrated in front of the fans at a practice and shouted into the microphone, "Show me the money!" That played well with the fans at the Baptist Health Training Complex that day, but the Dolphins were coming off an 11-6 season at that time.

From the start, that famous line from "Jerry Maguire" was regrettable. While it was cute, it reeked of player over team, as if the most important issue in the 2024 training camp was getting Tua his money. It ran completely contrary to the team-first ideal, the one often emphasized by former defensive coordinator Josh Boyer when asked to praise specific players after great performances with, "We don't celebrate the individual."

That was Tua celebrating himself, and the fact he said he did it in answer to a dare doesn't make it any better.

And then there were other regrettable comments that certainly would irk fans,

The one that stands out, of course, came three days after he dropped a shotgun snap from Aaron Brewer in a 28-27 loss against the Arizona Cardinals, a game where he performed overall pretty well coming back from a stint on IR with his last concussion.

“Yeah, I’d like to see a lot of other people go in the back there and try to catch that ball too," Tua said. "I mean, you’ve seen it. It wasn’t Brew’s best and Brew knows he can get it better, but it wasn’t my best as well. But I’m just saying to give perspective, you know, it’s not as easy as what it looks like, sitting down on your couch, eating chips.”

Yeah, that was bad in so many ways.

First off, this came in his usual Wednesday press conference — three days after the game — so it's not like it was in the heat of the moment. Secondly, he partially blamed Brewer, which is refreshing in its honesty but not a good look for a quarterback. And last, but certainly not least, was the shot at the fans.

The "sitting down on your couch, eating chips" is just really bad in so many ways.

It's the kind of comment that fans don't forget.

There were other comments that probably couldn't have gone unsaid, but that was the big one.

And if Tua indeed does get booed Friday night, there's your reason.

Because as a player, Tagovailoa had some good moments for the Dolphins, including become the team's first quarterback selected to the Pro Bowl since Marino and his league-leading stats (passer rating in 2022, passing yards in 2023), so it's not like he was a failure as a draft pick, even if he didn't quite pan out as hoped.

Those who will cheer will remember the good times. Those who boo likely will remember the words.

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