No More Excuses for Tua in 2025: Silence the Doubters or Prove They Were Right All Along

Originally posted on Dolphins Talk | By Mike Oliva | Last updated Sep 3, 2025 8:54 AM ET

No More Excuses for Tua in 2025: Silence the Doubters or Prove They Were Right All Along

The 2025 season is Tua Tagovailoa‘s 6th as an NFL starting quarterback.

WOW, time really does fly by, as it seems like he just got here.

It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Tua in Miami, as there have been a ton of ups and downs.

At times, especially in 2022 and 2023, he has looked like one of the elite quarterbacks in the sport, leading a high-flying offense that scores a ton of points.

We also know the lows, though—multiple concussions and head injuries, struggling when playing in cold weather, and against teams with a winning record.

If this were a relationship, the Facebook status would be “It’s Complicated.”

All Dolphins fans want Tua to succeed.

It is so difficult to find a quality starting quarterback who wants to go through the process of having to find another if you don’t have to.

With that said, this is it for Tua, I believe, in 2025.

Either he is going to stay healthy, play well, and show the world he is a franchise quarterback you can count on.

He will get injured again, miss games, and come up small in the big moments.

And if that is the case, he will prove all of his doubters, from Colin Cowherd, to Mike Florio, to Stephen A. Smith, and others right.

That they were right all along to question Tua’s ability to lead an NFL team.

If things go well and Tua is great in 2025, that leaves Miami heading into 2026 with him as the starter and a promising Quinn Ewers as the backup.

If things don’t go well, though, Miami must move on from him after the year.

The cap hit would be significant, but not insurmountable; other teams have taken even bigger cap hits to move on from their quarterback.

In years past, we have heard those in the media and Dolphins fans say, “This is a Make or Break Year for Tua.”

In reality, it wasn’t.

Now in year six, it truly is.

That is a fair statement; it is a make-or-break year for him.

And there are no excuses for him either.

It’s year six, people are tired of the excuses.

I know the offensive line isn’t great, so what do we deal with it.

I know he doesn’t have a pass-catching tight end you trust, so what, deal with it.

I know heading into the season, the running back room is a little dinged up, oh well, deal with it.

He is in the same offense he has been in since 2022, and when Mike McDaniel got here, it was time to take his game to the next level.

And raise the game of others around him as well.

This truly is the MAKE OR BREAK YEAR for Tua (as well as McDaniel and Grier).

They will sink or swim together.

If Tua is HIM, we see the best Tua we have seen in six years.

If we see the same old Tua that we have seen the majority of his career, with the same warts, well then its time to end this at the conclusion of the 2025 season and enter the mix to find your next starting quarterback.

This article first appeared on Dolphins Talk and was syndicated with permission.

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