Miami Dolphins ‘getting close’ to monumental $99M Tua Tagovailoa decision after disastrous 2025 season, shaping franchise’s future
MIAMI DOLPHINS general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan says a decision is close to being made over Tua Tagovailoa’s future – and he refused to rule out drafting a new quarterback.
The Florida franchise missed out on the 2025 playoffs after ending the regular season with a disastrous 7-10 record.
The Miami Dolphins are preparing to make a decision over Tua Tagovailoa’s future
The quarterback has held talks with general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan
And that has resulted in there being uncertainty over whether Tagovailoa, 27, will remain on board.
Sullivan revealed at a fan event that talks have been held with the 2023 Pro Bowl winner.
He confirmed that the Dolphins will assess landing a new quarterback during the upcoming NFL Draft.
The newly-appointed general manager said, “Of course, we’ll be looking at other quarterbacks in this draft. And every draft hereafter.
“But Tua was in my office the other day, if I’m being perfectly frank. We had a great conversation.
“Tua has been a very good player in this league. He’s done a lot of really good things for the Miami Dolphins. You guys should be proud to have him and having had him.
“I don’t know what the future holds right now, and I told Tua that. We’re working through some things.”
Sullivan went on to reveal that Miami are on the verge of making their final call over Tagovailoa’s future at the Hard Rock Stadium.
He added, “What I can tell you is that we’re going to infuse competition into that room, whether Tua is part of the room, whether he’s not part of the room.
“We’re going to infuse competition into that room, like we will do in every other position.
“Tua knows where we are. We’ve been very honest and upfront, and Tua also knows that he will be the first to know when we make a decision.
“But we’re getting close to a decision. And when we do, we’ll let Tua know whether he’s going to be part of this or not, and we’ll move forward.
“But you can rest assured that we will add competition to that room, one way or the other, to make it the best that we can.”
There have been suggestions that the Dolphins could try to win the race for Alabama’s Ty Simpson.
Tagovailoa, who was benched for the final showdowns of last term, joined Miami as the fifth overall pick during the 2020 NFL Draft and has gone on to be a prominent figure.
But the Dolphins still owe him $54million for 2026 after he was tied down to a $212m contract by former general manager Chris Grier.
And Tagovailoa could leave $99m in cap charges in his wake depending on whether he quits before or after June 1.
Negotiating a trade for the Hawaii native after that date would spread the payload over the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
