Why It's Time to Move On From Tua

The Miami Dolphins, by all indicates, appear ready to move on from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa as they start a new chapter with new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and new head coach Jeff Hafley, and it's absolutely the right call.

No decision has been made, Sullivan told season ticket members at a private event Thursday night, but national media members who don't throw out that kind of stuff without some indication coming from somewhere inside or around the team have been pretty unanimous in saying the Dolphins want to move on, hopefully via trade but even if Tua has to be released.

Again, it's the right call.

Why? It's time.

That's too simplistic, we agree, but Tua's time as the Dolphins quarterback simply has run its course and there's really no reason for great optimism things would be much better offensively in 2026 after the big downturn of 2025.

Like Ryan Tannehill before him, Tagovailoa was given ample opportunity to take the Dolphins where they want to go — at this time merely to the second round of the NFL playoffs — so it's time to give somebody else a chance.

Tagovailoa absolutely had his share of success as the Dolphins quarterback, which is why we'll never be on board with the idea of him being a draft bust as the fifth overall pick in 2020, but he also wasn't good enough in Miami to be classified as a "hit."

DOLPHINS REALLY TRIED WITH TUA

We heard from many fans, Tuaneers in particular, over the years how the Dolphins failed him by not providing better offensive weapons, by not putting together an acceptable offensive line, by a former coach being too tough, but there's another side to this.

To a large degree, the Dolphins did everything possible to make Tua successful and have him deliver as their franchise quarterback.

Put another way, it's been all about Tua for the past six years.

There's some logic to the Dolphins having done that, considering they made him the fifth overall pick in that 2020 draft and they desperately — maybe too desperately — wanted to finally have their next Dan Marino (or something resembling that because there'll never be another Marino).

Don't buy it?

Let's see, just start with his rookie season, in Brian Flores' second year as head coach when the Dolphins put together a playoff-caliber roster but decided to insert Tua into the starting lineup at their bye — after the Dolphins had won back-to-back games to get to 3-3 on the season, with those two games being 24-point decisions.

That was a move made for Tua, not for the betterment of the franchise, and one easily could make argument the Dolphins might have made the playoffs that season had Ryan Fitzpatrick been kept in the starting lineup. As it was, Tua took over and was replaced twice at halftime — including the late-Decemer game at Las Vegas when Miami scored that improbable comeback victory.

In 2021, the Dolphins provided Tua with the speed merchant at wide receiver who was lacking by taking Jaylen Waddle sixth overall when the better choice would have been franchise-type tackle Penei Sewell. In addition, the Dolphins brought in former NFL quarterback Charlie Frye, with whom Tua had familiarity to the coaching staff.

After things went south with Flores, who clearly wasn't a big Tua fan, the Dolphins brought in Mike McDaniel in part because he was somebody they felt could maximize Tua's skill set.

And a month after McDaniel was hired, the Dolphins found themselves with the opportunity to trade for Tyreek Hill, clearly a move that would maximize Tua's ability but at the same time force a shift in play style away from what usually wins in December and January.

And then there was the contract extension after Tua completed his first full season as a starter and had some success, though the offense never was good enough in big moments.

Instead of making Tagovailoa play on his fifth-year option to give themselves some flexibility in case of another injury or regression, the Dolphins again went all in with a contract extension that brought with it some clear cap consequences.

So, yeah, it was all about Tua for the past six seasons.

At his best, Tagovailoa was a good quarterback, but how good remains debatable because he was able to operate in an offense that featured probably the greatest amount of speed (Hill, Waddle, De'Von Achane) ever assembled and he never was asked to do the same kind of heavy lifting as the true elite quarterbacks.

The numbers didn't always tell the story, particularly the passer rating, which takes into account the result of every pass attempt without accounting for game situations or circumstances. For example, Tagovailoa's passer rating in his final start in the Monday night game at Pittsburgh was 113.2, which is elite level but also not even close to indicative of how much he struggled in that game.

But Tua wasn't close to at his best in 2025, whether it was a matter of a physical toll because of injuries, a lack of trust in his offensive line, a lack of confidence, whatever.

That the Dolphins went on a their mini-run in the second half of the season despite Tagovailoa putting up mediocre numbers — he averaged 166.7 passing yards in the team's final five victories that he started — was pretty telling.

The Dolphins didn't need Tagovailoa to win.

At this point, we're flat-out looking at diminishing returns when it comes to Tua.

For those suggesting the Dolphins keep Tua because they already have to pay him and deal with his cap space, sure, maybe there's some merit to that.

But beyond the risk of an injury that would trigger more guaranteed money in future years is the idea that keeping somebody just because he costs a lot doesn't make sense.

The Dolphins went for a fresh start when they fired McDaniel and hired Sullivan and Hafley, and the Dolphins really need a fresh start at quarterback also.