It's time for the Miami Dolphins to negotiate a contract extension with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The 2020 first-round pick will play the 2024 season under his fifth-year option, making $23.171 million in salary, and that's the last year of his deal.
Even though an extension hasn't been reached yet, the Dolphins have already made up their minds, according to ESPN's reporter Jeff Darlington.
The team intends to keep Tagovailoa as their long-term quarterback, it's just a matter of how at this point.
"The Dolphins are planning to extend Tua Tagovailoa. This is no longer a matter of whether they're going to pay him or not. They are planning to pay Tua Tagovailoa," Darlington said on NFL Live. "They have made it so clear that Chris Grier actually said in his press conference that they have absolutely no intention of drafting a quarterback with their first-round pick this year. They are moving forward with Tua. Perhaps they can draft someone to be his backup, but we need to wrap our heads around this, Tua Tagovailoa, as far as Chris Grier is concerned, is the future quarterback of the Miami Dolphins."
Franchise's perception
Beyond being a franchise-altering choice, it is in fact a difficult decision for the Dolphins. While Tua Tagovailoa is not perceived as an elite quarterback, and he's relatively more dependent of his environment than a franchise would prefer, Tua has played at an extremely high level since Mike McDaniel took over as the head coach in 2022, and there's not a realistic avenue to upgrade at quarterback.
"We're very happy with Tua," Dolphins general manager said before affirming that the team would not take a first-round quarterback. "That's not something I'm looking at, the first round. That's not something we've talked about."
Over the last two years, Tua Tagovailoa is fourth in the NFL in EPA + CPOE composite, a combination of metrics to measure offensive efficiency and quarterback accuracy. The problem is how much Tua can elevate his surroundings, and how much a big contract can get in the way of the offense hitting its ceiling.
"When it happens, it happens," Grier said about the extension. "We've had good communication. I'll leave those between his representation and the organization. But it's been good. We'll keep working toward this."
Tua Tagovailoa is still young, at 26 years old, and the Dolphins believe the quarterback can develop his game even more.
"He wants to be great," Grier added. "He's trying to do everything he can to be great. This is his next evolution. As Mike (McDaniel) has told you guys, we feel there is a whole other step he can take."
According to Spotrac, Tua Tagovailoa's market valuation indicates a six-year, $302.78 million extension, a yearly average of $50.4 million. But the real extension might get bigger, since a comparable player like Jalen Hurts is making $51 million per season — and that's without considering cap inflation.
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