NFL Trade Rumors
Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel was asked whether he was considering a change at quarterback after another rough performance from Tua Tagovailoa in a disappointing loss to the Steelers that officially eliminated Miami from the playoffs.
McDaniel did not rule out the idea, though he said he would have more information later in the week.
“The QB play last night was not good enough,” he said via Barry Jackson. “Everything is on the table.”
Tagovailoa threw another interception to add to his league-leading total and was lucky to finish with just one on the night. He and the passing game couldn’t muster anything, finishing the third quarter with negative yardage while the Steelers pulled away.
The Dolphins had won four straight entering this week, which had cooled a lot of the hot seat speculation about McDaniel. Previous reports have indicated the future of Tagovailoa is heavily linked to McDaniel, so it’s notable if the veteran quarterback is starting to lose the faith of his head coach.
Tagovailoa is due $54 million in fully guaranteed salary next year, plus another $3 million of his 2027 salary will become guaranteed in mid-March, putting the Dolphins on the hook for $57 million if Tagovailoa is on the team in 2026.
However, releasing him would trigger an NFL-record $99.2 million in dead money, so the Dolphins have some financial incentives to make things work with Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa, 27, was selected with the No. 5 overall pick out of Alabama in 2020 by the Dolphins. He signed a four-year, $30,275,438 rookie contract with a $19,578,501 signing bonus. He earned a base salary of $1,010,000 in the final year of his deal.
The Dolphins picked up Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option worth $23,171,000 for the 2024 season.
From there, the team re-signed him to a four-year deal worth up to $212 million that included $167 million guaranteed.
In 2025, Tagovailoa has appeared in 14 games for the Dolphins and completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
We’ll have more on the Dolphins and Tagovailoa as the news is available.
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