Why Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa may need each other in 2026 after benching

The Miami Dolphins seemed to spark the beginning of the end of their Tua Tagovailoa era when head coach Mike McDaniel benched the starting quarterback in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers earlier this week. 

Even before that decision was announced, ESPN's Dan Graziano noted that the Dolphins would absorb $67.4M in dead money charges on their 2026 salary cap and a remaining $31.8M in 2027 if they designated Tagovailoa as a post-June 1 release in early 2026. For a piece published on Friday, Jeff Howe of The Athletic suggested that the Dolphins and Tagovailoa may need each other for at least one more year. 

Does any team want to trade for Tua Tagovailoa?

"Rival teams don’t view Tagovailoa as a viable trade candidate," Howe wrote. "His performance hasn’t warranted the price, and opponents don’t typically rush to save a competitor from their own cap sins. And unless the Dolphins are prepared for a Brock Osweiler-style trade, attaching a premium pick for someone to take on Tagovailoa’s contract, such a move sounds like a fantasy."

Howe was referencing how the Cleveland Browns absorbed $16M in guaranteed salary while acquiring quarterback Brock Osweiler and a second-round draft pick from the Houston Texans in March 2017. Osweiler ultimately never played a meaningful in-game down for the Browns. 

As for Tagovailoa, he signed a four-year, $212.4M contract extension in the summer of 2024. Last season, he suffered the third reported concussion of his pro career. More recently, he and Sam Darnold of the Seattle Seahawks were tied with a league-high 16 total turnovers for the ongoing campaign before Thursday night's game between the Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams got underway. 

What should Dolphins do with Tua Tagovailoa?

ESPN's Ben Solak is among those who think Tagovailoa could be a good veteran backup for a younger QB1, such as Ewers. 

"Tagovailoa is owed $54M guaranteed in 2026," Howe added. "If the Dolphins decided to cut him, it’d be terribly difficult to field a competitive roster due to the salary cap ramifications that would result. ...The Dolphins might be better off keeping Tagovailoa through 2026 and opening more options and financial flexibility for themselves in 2027."

Of course, it's impossible to know what a to-be-hired general manager will want to do with Tagovailoa. The Dolphins and former GM Chris Grier "mutually" agreed to part ways on Oct. 31.