Dolphins GM On Tua Tagovailoa: He Needs To Be Available

Speaking at his end-of-season press conference, Dolphins GM Chris Grier said that they’ve discussed injuries with QB Tua Tagovailoa and the need for him to protect himself. 

“He needs to be available and control what he can control,” Grier said via Barry Jackson. “Not being available and taking risks is unacceptable to us. He knows that.”

After a healthy 2023 season, injuries became a concern again for Tagovailoa in 2024. He missed a month in the concussion protocol and was out for the last few games of the year with a hip injury. 

Grier cited those injuries as a big reason the team hasn’t had more success in the playoffs. 

“The quarterback, when he misses six and a half games. To me, that’s the difference there,” Grier said via Jackson. 

The veteran personnel exec added the team is not concerned about Tagovailoa’s current hip injury turning into a long-term issue, per Marcel Louis-Jacques, even though it’s to the same hip he dislocated at Alabama. 

Still, Grier indicated they will be looking hard at bringing in a top backup quarterback for 2025 to protect themselves if Tagovailoa can’t stay healthy, via Jackson.

Tagovailoa, 26, was selected with the No. 5 overall pick out of Alabama in 2020 by the Dolphins. He signed a four-year, $30,275,438 rookie contract with a $19,578,501 signing bonus. He earned a base salary of $1,010,000 in the final year of his deal.

The Dolphins picked up Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option worth $23,171,000 for the 2024 season. 

From there, the team re-signed him to a four-year deal worth up to $212 million this offseason that included $167 million guaranteed.

In 2024, Tagovailoa appeared in 11 games for the Dolphins and completed 72.9 percent of his passes for 2,867 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

We’ll have more on Tagovailoa as the news is available.