03/09/26 08:14:00
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03/09 08:12 CDT Tua Tagovailoa's time in Miami is over. The Dolphins say
they're releasing the quarterback
Tua Tagovailoa's time in Miami is over. The Dolphins say they're releasing the
quarterback
By ALANIS THAMES and TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writers
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) --- The Miami Dolphins are moving on from Tua
Tagovailoa and starting over at quarterback.
Tagovailoa --- the team's primary starter for the last 5 1/2 seasons --- will
be released, the Dolphins said Monday, a move that comes less than two years
after he signed a $212 million extension with the club.
It will result in a $99 million dead cap hit, the largest in NFL history, yet
the Dolphins evidently saw that as the best path forward.
"I recently informed Tua and his representation that we are going to move in a
new direction at the quarterback position and will be releasing him after the
start of the new league year," Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said
in remarks released through the team.
The league year starts Wednesday afternoon. If the move is designated as a
post-June 1 release, the $99 million is split over two years, with about
two-thirds on this year's cap and the remaining third in 2027.
"As I shared with Tua, I have great respect for the person and player he is,"
Sullivan said. "On behalf of the Miami Dolphins, I expressed our gratitude for
his many contributions, both on the field and in the community, during his six
seasons in Miami."
It's the latest, and certainly one of the most significant, moves in this
offseason of rebuilding and change for the Dolphins.
Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley are both new, and big names like receiver
Tyreek Hill and pass rusher Bradley Chubb aren't being brought back. The
biggest question left was the one at quarterback, and if Tagovailoa would get
another shot.
It was finally answered Monday, though there were strong hints long before now.
A trade or release had been somewhat expected after Tagovailoa, drafted fifth
overall in 2020, was benched by former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel toward the
end of last season because of poor play. Tagovailoa at the time said he wasn't
happy with the decision and wasn't sure what his future with the team would
look like.
Tagovailoa was demoted for rookie Quinn Ewers with three games left in the
season, signaling that his six-year run with the Dolphins might come to an end.
Tagovailoa, who turned 28 earlier this month, led the league in passing yards
in 2023 with a career-best 29 passing touchdowns, but he never quite replicated
that form.
He threw a career-high 15 interceptions last season with 67.7% completion rate
--- the lowest in his career since his rookie season.
"I would say the biggest thing, and it's being honest with myself as well, had
been my performance," Tagovailoa said after being benched. "I haven't been
performing up to the level and the capabilities that I have in the past."
The dead cap hit tops the previous record of $85 million that the Denver
Broncos took for releasing Russell Wilson in 2024.
Tagovailoa was drafted by the Dolphins to be their franchise quarterback after
winning a national championship during a successful college career at Alabama.
But the quarterback struggled on the field his first two seasons under former
Miami coach Brian Flores and was benched several times as a rookie, resulting
in a constant cycle of rumors on whether the Dolphins --- who have the NFL's
longest playoff win drought, at a quarter-century and counting --- would stick
with Tagovailoa.
The Dolphins fired Flores and replaced him with McDaniel for the 2022 season,
and McDaniel developed and outwardly supported Tagovailoa during the coach's
four years in Miami.
But with McDaniel gone, and a new regime in, the time was evidently right for
Miami to start over at quarterback yet again.
___
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