According to Jarrett Bailey, citing a source, the Dolphins plan to work out a long-term deal for QB Tua Tagovailoa first before moving on to other orders of business.
Chief among those is a long-term contract for WR Jaylen Waddle, per Bailey.
Miami plans to keep both players but needs to lock up Tagovailoa before building other contracts around that deal. The Dolphins have been consistent that they want to extend Tagovailoa as he enters the final year of his rookie contract, but it won’t be cheap.
The Lions recently signed QB Jared Goff to an extension worth $53 million a year and there’s a good chance a deal for Tagovailoa would exceed that.
As for Waddle, the Eagles recently signed WR DeVonta Smith to a deal worth $25 million a year. Waddle was drafted the same year as Smith and has slightly better career production, so that deal likely represents a floor for his camp in negotiations.
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.
In 2023, Tagovailoa appeared in all 17 games for the Dolphins and completed 69.3 percent of his passes for 4,624 yards, 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Waddle, 25, was a part-time starter at Alabama. He was a first-team All-American as a sophomore before suffering an ankle injury that cost him a good portion of the 2020 season. The Dolphins drafted Waddle with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
He signed a four-year, $27,085,991 contract with the Dolphins that includes a $17,058,902 signing bonus as well as a fifth-year option. Miami exercised Waddle’s fifth-year option which is worth $15.591 million for the 2024 season,
In 2023, Waddle appeared in 14 games and recorded 72 receptions for 1,014 yards (14.1 YPC) and four touchdowns.
We’ll have more on Tagovailoa and Waddle as the news is available.
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