Tua Tagovailoa’s days with the Dolphins might be numbered — and the quarterback sounds perfectly content with that.
Tagovailoa, the 27-year-old and former first-round pick who has dealt with troubling concussion issues throughout his career, said that a fresh start “would be dope” when asked by reporters during his end-of-season press conference Monday.
“I would be good with it,” Tagovailoa said, and while he declined to elaborate beyond that, reporters asking the questions made sure he knew they meant a fresh start elsewhere, according to the Miami Herald.
When the Dolphins were officially eliminated from the playoffs, they benched Tagovailoa in favor of third-string quarterback Quinn Ewers — who started Weeks 16-18, collected 622 passing yards and collected three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Then, on Saturday, NFL Network reported that Tagovailoa was “considered unlikely to play again” for the Dolphins.
Tagovailoa threw for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions during his 14 starts, but his numbers fell short of what the Dolphins expected when they inked him to a $212.4 million contract extension in July 2024.
He’d be owed $54 million for 2026, which would mark his seventh season with the franchise after collecting just one Pro Bowl appearance and just one postseason game across the first six — where the Dolphins’ strong start to the 2023 season didn’t translate to an AFC East title and only resulted in a disappointing first-round exit.
It’s unclear if head coach Mike McDaniel will remain with the Dolphins, though he survived when they fired longtime general manager Chris Grier in October and wasn’t one of the first six coaches fired Monday following the conclusion of the regular season.
Miami finished with a 6-4 record across its final 10 games after opening with a disastrous 1-6 stretch.
At different points during his career, Tagovailoa flashed plenty of potential, especially after the Dolphins acquired Tyreek Hill in 2022 and drafted Jaylen Waddle in 2021 to give him one of the most dynamic receiver duos in the NFL.
But harrowing head injuries upended his career, with Tagovailoa sustaining four documented concussions since 2022 and a fifth one in 2019 while at Alabama, according to USA Today.
Some called for him to consider retirement after the fourth NFL one in September 2024, but he ultimately returned and started the next nine games before missing the final pair of games with a hip injury.
