This latest Tua Tagovailoa trade update spells bad news for his next landing spot this offseason.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will likely play for a new team next season.
Tagovailoa has spent the first six seasons of his career in South Beach, and all signs point to the 2025 season being his last. The question at hand is not if Tagovailoa will be traded but when.
The Dolphins would love to get some assets back for the Pro Bowl quarterback, but this latest update spells trouble for both sides in that regard. According to The Athletic's Jeff Howe, Tagovailoa's trade value is at an all-time low.
"The Dolphins are still working through possibilities with QB Tua Tagovailoa, who could be released or traded. Tagovailoa was the first $50 million quarterback to ever get benched for performance reasons, as his play has been in steep decline for a couple of years. QB-needy teams are wading through an imperfect veteran and rookie market, and Tagovailoa’s name has rarely come up among the pool of available players. Wherever Tagovailoa plays in 2026, it surely sounds like he’ll have to earn his role in training camp."
If the Dolphins fail to trade Tagovailoa this offseason, they may have no other choice but to cut him. March 13, two days after the start of free agency, appears to be a soft deadline for the team to part ways with him. That is because $3 million of his $31 million base salary for 2027 vests as fully guaranteed on that date.
With March 13 approaching rapidly, the Dolphins will need to find a trade partner quickly.
Based on recent reports, teams that could make a move for Tagovailoa are the Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, and the Indianapolis Colts, to name a few.
The 28-year-old has flashed brilliance at times throughout his career, but inconsistency has often followed. There have been stretches of questionable decision-making, and his history of significant head injuries has only added to the uncertainty surrounding his long-term outlook.
At this point, it appears increasingly likely that Tagovailoa’s future in Miami could be nearing its end.
His 2025 campaign was a turbulent one, marked by noticeable regression. Tagovailoa finished with 2,660 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, numbers that fell well below expectations. The struggles ultimately led the Dolphins to bench him for the final three games of the season.
Tagovailoa remains under a four-year, $212.4 million contract he signed in July 2024. The deal includes $167 million in total guarantees and runs through the 2028 season, a financial commitment that will heavily influence any decision Miami makes moving forward.