Jeremy Fowler of ESPN said that the Miami Dolphins appeared to be a little “spooked” after signal-callers like Jared Goff and Trevor Lawrence were rewarded with incredibly lucrative contract extensions earlier in the offseason.
Fowler said as much while providing an update on contract talks between the Dolphins and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
“I think things could heat up starting next week when Miami gets back in training camp and negotiators are all in the building,” Fowler said. “They can sort of recalibrate, figure out their game plan. But my sense, after asking around, is they were a little spooked by the ballooning quarterback market with Jared Goff, Trevor Lawrence pushing that $55 million [per year] mark. Because now, Tua can say, ‘Hey, look, I led the league in passing last year. You wanted me to show I’m durable,’ so he played a full 17 games. That costs a lot of money.
“So Miami has to come to grips with that. I just don’t think they’ve been in that ballpark quite yet, but they are committed to trying to get it done. I expect, around training camp, for it to heat up a little bit.”
Goff agreed to a four-year extension with the Detroit Lions worth $212 million ($170 million guaranteed), and Lawrence inked a five-year extension with the Jacksonville Jaguars worth a whopping $275 million ($200 million guaranteed).
The Dolphins, meanwhile, have yet to extend Tagovailoa, who debatably put together a better 2023 regular season than Lawrence or Goff did for their teams.
Dolphins tackle Terron Armstead recently came to the defense of Tagovailoa regarding the 26-year-old’s contract situation.
#Dolphins OT Terron Armstead didn't mince words about his QB's contract situation 🗣️
"It's gonna happen. We need Tua to go ANYWHERE we're trying to go. All our dreams, goals and aspirations are reliant on no. 1. The organization knows that."@T_Armstead72 @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/zbCXYkcNaH
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) July 17, 2024
In his fourth NFL season, Tagovailoa threw for more yards than either of the two aforementioned quarterbacks did.
Tagovailoa led the NFL with a whopping 4,624 passing yards across 17 games played during the 2023 regular season. Goff was close to besting Tagovailoa in terms of total passing yards, but he came up short with 4,575 in 17 games. Lawrence, on the other hand, threw for 4,016 passing yards in 16 games, over 600 yards fewer than Tagovailoa ended up with.
However, it’s worth noting that Goff led the Lions to more playoff success than the Dolphins enjoyed. Miami lost its first playoff game to the Kansas City Chiefs by 19 points, and Tagovailoa wasn’t his regular-season self in terms of production.
He threw for only 199 yards and one touchdown while also registering one interception in what was a forgettable offensive showing for one of the NFL’s best offenses during the regular season.
Goff, conversely, led the Lions all the way to the NFC title game, where the team lost to the San Francisco 49ers by a final score of 34-31. In order to reach that stage, the Lions first won playoff games against the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The 29-year-old averaged an impressive 279 passing yards per contest during Detroit’s stint in the playoffs.
Tagovailoa is certainly looking to add some playoff success to his resume in the future. He’ll have a chance to do so in the upcoming season — but it remains to be seen what his long-term contract situation will look like along the way.
