Could Dolphins part ways with QB Tua Tagovailoa after 2025 season?

As The Athletic's Ted Nguyen noted, the Miami Dolphins could undergo a franchise reset by parting ways with head coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier if the club fails to secure a playoff victory in its fourth season under McDaniel.

Meanwhile, Miami signed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a four-year, $212.4M deal last summer. Nevertheless, Jim Ayello of The Athletic explained in a piece published Tuesday why Tagovailoa could find himself playing for his Dolphins career this fall. 

"There’s a world where this is Tagovailoa’s final season in Miami," Ayello directly said. "To be clear, the odds of the Dolphins moving on after this season are remote (it’s far more likely after 2026), but it’s maybe not as crazy as you think. Imagine if the up-against-the-cap Dolphins struggle to a five- or six-win 2025 season. Ownership decides it’s time for a hard reset, and the new GM and coach don’t see Tagovailoa, with his concussion history and limitations as a pocket passer, as a franchise QB. They decide to draft a QB and look to trade Tagovailoa to a QB-needy team."

Tagovailoa has made 17 starts in a single campaign just once (2023) since the Dolphins selected him in the first round of the 2020 draft. He has suffered three reported concussions since the fall of 2022, the most recent of which sidelined him for four games this past season. He also missed the campaign's final two contests due to a hip injury. 

"His value would depend on his health and how he plays this year, but for the record: Simply cutting him after this season would come with a $79M dead cap hit," Ayello added about Tagovailoa. "That’s a lot, but it wouldn’t even be the NFL record."

The Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams are among the teams that could be interested in taking a flier on Tagovailoa if he becomes available during the winter months. 

This situation could be fascinating to follow if Tagovailoa goes down with yet another worrisome injury or loses more games than he wins through Week 18 of the upcoming season.