Tua Would Welcome Fresh Start, but Will He Get It?

The Miami Dolphins quarterback was benched for the final three games of the 2025 season.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) leaves the field following a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

By all accounts, it appears there's a distinct possibility that the Miami Dolphins will move on from Tua Tagovailoa in the offseason, if not a probability.

And for those wondering, that suits the quarterback just fine.

At locker cleanout day at the Baptist Health Training Complex, Tagovailoa didn't conduct a full-blown media session, but he was approached by three reporters and asked if he would welcome a fresh start.

"That would be dope," Tua said. "I would be good with it."

To make sure, Tagovailoa then confirmed he understood the "fresh start" didn't just mean a new season, it meant a new team.

So, yeah, Tagovailoa would welcome a change of scenery.

It's not shocking, really, considering how his sixth season with the Dolphins ended, with him as the emergency third quarterback for the final three games against the Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots after he was benched when Miami was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with their Week 15 Monday night loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

His final quarter of the season was a great one statistically as he completed 16 of 18 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns, the only problem being that it came after the Dolphins were down 28-3, and he had struggled to that point.

HOW TO MOVE ON FROM TUA

Tagovailoa's status with the Dolphins has been about his contract, before he signed the huge 2024 extension and ever since, and it will remain that way over the next weeks and months.

The problem is Tagovailoa's problematic $56.4 million cap number for 2026, and his guaranteed $54 million contract.

If the Dolphins want to simply release Tagovailoa, they'll have to take on $99 million of dead cap space, whether all in 2026 or spread out over the next two years (with $67 million in 2026 and $32 million in 2027) if they make him a post-June 1 release.

Ideally, the Dolphins would find a team willing/looking to trade for the quarterback, but that won't be easy, given his declining performance in 2025, plus the fact an acquiring team would be on the hook for $45 million next season.

There are scenarios where the Dolphins could make it more enticing for a prospective trade partner by either paying some of Tua's salary or throwing in draft pick compensation, but either scenario doesn't play out as a win for the Dolphins unless the objective is moving on from Tua at all costs.

It's difficult to envision the Dolphins running it back with Tagovailoa as the starting quarterback after his benching, especially since the team's four-game winning streak came with minimal contributions from the passing game, which took a back seat to the running game and defense.

The Denver Broncos, of course, were the most recent example of a team eating a lot of cap space to move on from a player, which they did with Russell Wilson at the cost of $53 million in cap space in 2024 and $32 million in 2025. In those two seasons, the Broncos made the playoffs last year, and they're the No. 1 seed in the AFC this year.

To be fair, the Broncos had a lot more pieces in place when they released Wilson than the Dolphins do right now, so the transition probably won't be as seamless.

In any event, Tagovailoa's situation is the most intriguing one involving any Dolphins player this offseason, but at least he's made his feelings clear that he's fine with the idea of his time in Miami being over.