It appears Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins still have some work to do on a contract extension that would keep the star quarterback in the organization beyond this coming season.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the parties have continued to communicate, with the Dolphins reportedly having made at least one contract offer that seemingly didn’t get the job done. Meanwhile, the signal-caller has opted to miss some OTA (organized team activities) time.
“He has missed some OTA time, I’ve confirmed, and really it could depend on how negotiations go with his contract as to whether he starts to show up or is there full time,” ESPN’s Fowler said Sunday. “They have had contract talks, preliminary talks. I’m told that the Dolphins have made at least one contract offer, but we know how these things go; the offer apparently hasn’t been good enough or he’d probably be there full time. So, the market is pretty set. We saw Jared Goff, $50-plus million a year, that’s going to apply to Tua and Trevor Lawrence.”
The No. 5 overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft is set to earn around $23 million in the last year of his rookie deal and could be a candidate for a contract worth at least $55 million per year, as predicted by an anonymous NFL executive.
It’s unclear, though, if the Dolphins are willing to pay him that much, which would also put him on the same salary tier as players like Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson and others.
Tagovailoa was one of the most productive quarterbacks in the 2023 season, leading the league with 4,624 passing yards. The last Dolphin to achieve that feat was Dan Marino in the 1992 season.
Perhaps more importantly, the 26-year-old Pro Bowler led Miami to a second consecutive playoff appearance and an 11-win campaign, marking the first time the team reached that threshold since the 2008 season.
So, the Dolphins might be better off locking up their rising star for the foreseeable future. However, they also may be hesitant to commit a huge amount of money to a quarterback with a glaring injury history who has never won a postseason game. In addition, Tagovailoa had a worrisome standing against opponents with winning records last season.
Only time will tell how the Tagovailoa contract saga ends up for the Dolphins. Hopefully, the lack of an extension at the moment won’t distract the squad too much as it prepares to contend again in the 2024 season.
