The Miami Dolphins are releasing quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with a post-June 1 designation, which means the franchise will eat a record-setting $99 million in dead over the next two years.
“I recently informed Tua and his representation that we are going to move in a new direction at the quarterback position and I will be releasing him after the start of the new league year,” Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said in a statement posted to Instagram on Monday.
Sullivan said he expressed “great respect” to Tagovailoa as a person and is gracious for his contributions to the franchise. The Dolphins reportedly preferred a trade over Tagovailoa’s release, but it didn’t work out.
Tagovailoa signed a massive four-year, $212.4 million contract in July 2024, but was benched last season for Quinn Ewers after throwing for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions across 14 regular-season appearances.
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The former Alabama star is due $54 million guaranteed for 2026, and is eligible to sign with another NFL team for the league minimum after he’s officially released when the new NFL year begins on March 12. The Dolphins selected Tagovailoa No. 5 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft and he showed promise early before a career-high turnover total last fall.
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Miami struggled early last season at 1-6 through seven games, much of that due to Tagovailoa’s inconsistencies as a passer. A player who once led the NFL in completion percentage in 2024 scolded his own play after a midseason loss to the Cleveland Browns following a three-interception performance, which led to Ewers — a rookie — running the offense in the second half.
“Definitely not happy, not proud of where I’m at with my play, with how I’ve gone about things this year,” Tagovailoa said after finishing that loss with a career-low 24.1 passer rating. “I know I’ve gotta be a lot better — and I’ve been better for the Miami Dolphins in years past. But this isn’t years past, this is this year. Just trying to maneuver everything and build a collection of guys to come along with me. I’ve gotta be able to multitask if that makes sense, and while doing that and get in that flow.”
Tagovailoa had previously called out his teammates one week prior after a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, later apologizing for those remarks. Tagovailoa said teammates lacked focus for either being late to or not attending players-only meetings last season. Tagovailoa mentioned those comments being well-intended, but later realizing that it created an unneeded distraction for his team.
A former Pro Bowler in Miami, Tagovailoa acknowledged that he didn’t protect the locker room by airing his team’s dirty laundry publicly. Miami would finish 7-10 last season and fired coach Mike McDaniel after his fourth season.
Dolphins’ next QB move
Miami has decisions to make at the position with Ewers returning and several notable free agents on the market, from veterans like Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones, to former Green Bay Packers backup Malik Willis. There’s time to evaluate under center for a potential 2026 NFL Draft addition as well, although next spring’s draft class is considerably deeper at quarterback.
Tagovailoa’s record-setting dead money does create financial strain on the organization. The more cost-efficient decision would be to roll with Ewers and continue his development, then signing a proven, viable veteran as a No. 2 — or perhaps emergency starter. Marcus Mariota and Joe Flacco are two other veteran passers on the market, who would likely be around the one-year, $8.5 million contract range.
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