The Miami Dolphins might look to turn over a new leaf in 2026 when it comes to their head coach, but doing so at quarterback will be difficult.
That's because of the albatross of a contract that Tua Tagovailoa has. Even if Miami wants to move off him in 2026 after he has yet again shown he isn't the answer, that will be very difficult to do.
According to Over the Cap, cutting Tua pre- or post-June 1 would cost $99.2 or $67.4 million, respectively, and both of those figures will amount to the largest dead-cap hits in NFL history.
When it comes to trading Tagovailoa, the Dolphins would have to eat $45.2 million in dead money with a pre-June 1 trade, but a post-June 1 trade would cost significantly less at $13.4 million.
However, even with that post-June 1 trade, there is so much money left on his deal that the Dolphins would probably have to pick up at least some of Tua's remaining salary to make a trade work.
These are all things CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones lays out in a new article published on Saturday. Jones is hearing that Tagovailoa probably isn't going anywhere based on those factors, along with his injury history and poor reputation around the NFL following some gaffes that show he's a shaky leader in the locker room.
Releasing him would result in the largest dead-money hit in NFL history, but trading him wouldn't be easy to do. Tagovailoa has an injury history, and like Murray he doesn't have the best reputation around the league, especially after his players-only meeting gaffe at the press conference earlier this season.
Miami paying down some of the contract has been floated as an option, but the Dolphins would need to pay a significant chunk to move him to a team that ultimately becomes interested.
"It may be worth going one more year with him, especially if Mike [McDaniel] is there," one personnel source told Jones.
"He's going to be there," another executive predicted.
The brutal truth for the Dolphins is that cutting ties with Tagovailoa will be painful financially for the next few years, not just in 2026.
Not to mention, even if the Dolphins are willing to take on that financial burden and a team is willing to take on at least some of Tua's contract, another roadblock comes from the fact that Tagovailoa could be one concussion away from retiring.
That said, the Dolphins must not hesitate to explore their options for a long-term answer at quarterback in 2026. In fact, that should be the top priority.
If the young quarterback is ready to start right away next season, great.
If not, Miami has a bridge quarterback — albeit a very expensive one — until the young signal-caller is ready to take the reins.
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