REPORT: Tua Arrives at OTAs Monday; Not Holding Out

It had been reported over the weekend and since last Friday that Tua had been mostly absent from other voluntary Dolphins offseason workouts since April. It was also reported that Tua had been in California working out privately with 3DQB the quarterback coaches he has hired.

On Sunday Morning, ESPN’s Jeremey Fowler reported on Tua’s contract talks with the Dolphins. Fowler stated, “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.”

“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.”

(for clarity, OTAs for the Dolphins start Monday, May 20th, so when Fowler references OTA time, he may have misspoken and meant offseason workouts that began April 15th that come before the OTAs begin)

This report follows a Friday report from NFL Insider Jonathan Jones of CBS, who stated that Tua has mostly missed the Dolphins’ offseason workouts thus far.

Per Jones, “The Miami Dolphins will begin team drills on Monday as part of their voluntary organized team activities, and it’s unclear whether starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will be a part of them.

Tagovailoa has been absent for the large majority of voluntary offseason work since the Dolphins reported back April 15, sources close to the situation told CBS Sports. That is in stark contrast to his first four seasons in the league, when Tagovailoa was present for most of the voluntary work.

Sources believe his absence is related to his contract status. Tagovailoa, the fifth overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, is currently set to play the 2024 season on his fifth-year option, worth $23.171 million. The Alabama alumnus has hoped for a long-term contract extension with the Dolphins, but one has not materialized to date.”

There has been much debate this offseason amongst fans and those in the media if Miami should sign Tua to a long-term extension or let him play out his 5th year option and address an extension next offseason after the 2024 season.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported a few months back a new contract wasn’t expected to be signed until the summer months and possibly not until June or July.

There have been reports that Tua hasn’t been at some of the offseason workouts run by the organization because he has been in California doing private workouts with his quarterback coach at 3DQB. And that when Tua has been in Miami, he has attended some of the offseason workouts with the Dolphins, and sat in on meetings even if he wasn’t doing any work on the field.

Earlier this week, Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff signed a four-year $212 million contract with over $170 million guaranteed. It has been reported that Tua wants a contract that is close to equal to or more than that.