Tua Tagovailoa Used One Word to Describe Possibility of Starting All Over Next Year

There’s a good chance Tagovailoa will play somewhere else next season.

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is open to playing somewhere new next season. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

There is a very good chance Tua Tagovailoa will part from the Dolphins this offseason to play elsewhere for the 2026 season.

It sounds like the quarterback is open to this possibility as well. Tagovailoa was asked how he feels about having a “fresh start” next season when speaking to media on Monday, and he didn’t shy away from giving his honest answer.

“That would be dope. I would be good with it,” Tagovailoa said, via The Palm Beach Post.

Don’t be surprised if Tagovailoa lands elsewhere this offseason, especially if he’s on board with the idea. After this response, though, Tagovailoa didn’t offer any more information about where he stands with his future.

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The only issue is the quarterback’s contract. He is guaranteed $54 million next year, but cutting him this offseason would set up a $99.2 million dead cap hit ($67.4 million of dead money in 2026, then $31.8 million in 2027) over the next two seasons, which would be an NFL record over the Broncos’ $85 million release of Russell Wilson two years ago. The ideal scenario for Miami would be to trade Tagovailoa so they can eat a portion of his salary.

Tagovailoa’s 2025 season didn’t go to plan. He was benched for the final three games in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers. This decision to bench Tagovailoa seemed to point to the team wanting a change at the quarterback position for the future.

We’ll see what happens with Tagovailoa this offseason.

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