NFL execs say they’d ‘probably wait’ to extend Tua Tagovailoa’s contract with Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said back in August that extension talks with star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa have been tabled until the offseason.

A recent report indicates that NFL executives would probably wait until the end of the season to extend Tagovailoa.

“I asked some people around the league because I was curious, what would you do with his contract, because he’s in the fourth-year of his deal, he’s got the fifth-year option next year,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on “SportsCenter.” “Dolphins are going to have to pay this guy based on the way he’s playing. Those execs said that they would probably wait until the end of the year because it gives you more data on the player and it gives him a chance to show that he can play a 17-game, healthy season. That’s really been the question, the durability. Well, so far, only one sack this year, putting up the huge numbers, so long as he stays healthy, this is going to be a massive contract, potentially.”

The 6-foot-1 quarterback was selected with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft following a three-season stint playing college football at the University of Alabama. He threw for 2,800-plus yards and 33-plus touchdowns in each of his final two seasons as a member of the Crimson Tide.

His best season of college football came during his sophomore season, the 2018 season. Tagovailoa finished with 3,966 passing yards and 43 passing touchdowns in 15 games played with the Crimson Tide as a sophomore.

Tagovailoa has played four seasons in the NFL, all as a member of the Dolphins franchise. He totaled 3,548 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns across 13 games played with Miami during the 2022 regular season (all starts).

Additionally, the 25-year-old led the entire league in yards gained per pass attempt (8.9), yards gained per pass completion (13.7) and quarterback rating (105.5) a season ago.

For as great as the quarterback played during the 2022 regular season, he’s on pace to have an even better 2023 regular season.

Through Miami’s first three games of the season, Tagovailoa has racked up 1,024 passing yards and eight passing touchdowns compared to only two interceptions. He has also led the Dolphins to a 3-0 record to start the season, the best record in the AFC East.

Considering Tagovailoa’s injury history, it makes sense that the Dolphins have decided to wait until the offseason to resume extension talks with the quarterback.

But it seems like the team will want to sign him to a lucrative extension when the offseason rolls around, so long as the quarterback is able to avoid the injury bug for the remainder of the season.