ESPN: Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins contract extension talks haven’t ‘progressed all so well’

Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins are in the midst of a contract negotiation, but it’s not going far, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Tagovailoa is already skipping the majority of the Dolphins’ OTAs as his agent negotiates a new deal with the team. With Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff setting the new market with his extension, Tagovailoa’s price tag could be in the same ballpark.

Plus, his participation in offseason workouts will depend on how far the contract talks progress.

“So this one’s interesting because he’s got a contract extension potentially coming up,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “The Miami Dolphins have started talks, they’ve made an offer, all those things but it hasn’t progressed all so well because he has missed some time. He’s missed some of the early voluntary offseason workout sessions.

“Whether he shows up coming up in the coming weeks will probably depend on how they progressed with the contract talks. The market speaks. We saw Jared Goff get a big deal in Detroit over $50 million. So we’ll see how close Miami is willing to get to that threshold.”

Fowler previously reported last month that the team was “saving money” to get Tagovailoa paid.

“Tua Tagovailoa, this one’s interesting because he could be the path of least resistance as far as getting a deal done because he showed he was healthy, played a full 17 games, 11 wins, 4,600 passing yards, so he showed improvement,” Fowler said. “The Dolphins know that and they’ve been fiscally responsible this offseason, saving money to give him some coin.

“It just depends on how far are they willing to go? Are they willing to pay him $50 million, that’s the question.”

After dealing with injury concerns over the last couple of seasons of his football career, Tagovailoa played in every game in 2023. He led Miami to an 11-6 record and made the Pro Bowl after leading the NFL in passing with 4,624 yards.

The Dolphins lost to the Chiefs, the eventual Super Bowl champions, on a frigid night in Kansas City to open the playoffs, but they found out they have the right quarterback leading the charge.

In early April, the Dolphins quarterback traveled to Hawaii, his home state, for a football camp sponsored by his foundation. He mostly declined to comment about his contract.

“Right now, I’m letting my agent handle that,” Tagovailoa told reporters. “I’m focused on my family, I’m focused on continuing to better myself, better my craft and we’ll talk more about that when that time comes. For now, exciting times ahead, that’s for sure.”