Sportsnaut
Could a trade between the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns that swaps Tua Tagovailoa for Deshaun Watson be a way to solve everyone’s current problem?
On Wednesday, Tagovailoa’s time with the Dolphins may have officially come to an end. Head coach Mike McDaniel revealed that he is benching the one-time Pro Bowler and will instead start seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers. After a Monday night loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers, where the QB played solidly, McDaniels still felt it was time to try something different.
The move is an admission that the team’s decision to give him a four-year, $212 million extension after he earned Pro Bowl honors in 2023 was a huge mistake. It puts the Dolphins in a difficult position. Cutting him after the season would mean a $99.2 million dead-money charge next year. But a lot of space would open up in 2027.
They could try to trade him, but they would need to give up a first or second-rounder to get another team to take on what’s left on his contract. Or there might be another option. Trading with a team that has a similar problem and situation. That is why the Dolphins should give the Browns a call after the season.
For as bad as Tagovailoa’s contract looks, Deshaun Watson’s is far worse. Cleveland made the stunning choice to give him a fully guaranteed five-year deal worth $230 million after acquiring him from the Houston Texans in 2022. The pact has been an absolute disaster as Watson has been an injury waiting to happen over the last four years, and even when he has been on the field, he looks like a shell of himself.
He pretty much made himself untradable. However, after a few years of suffering, including Watson missing all of the 2025 season, the Browns only have one year left on his deal. Watson and the Browns badly need a separation. The same could be said about the Dolphins and Tagovailoa, whose contract gets easier to get out of after 2026. So why not swap problems and see if either team can resurrect the QBs’ careers in a new system?
The relationship between Tua Tagovailoa and Miami has run its course. But the replacement options aren’t great since they will have the 11th pick in April’s draft. Even if they can get a good QB prospect in the draft, having a veteran signal caller to start the season or back that player up is a necessity. But it should be someone other than Tagovailoa.
Watson should be fully recovered from his ruptured Achilles next season. Maybe an offensive guru like McDaniel can get the still only 30-year-old QB back somewhere close to the three-time Pro Bowler he was to start the decade. It’s worth a try in a prove-it season while they develop a young QB...
