Tua Tagovailoa Unlikely To Be Back With Dolphins In 2026

According to Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Tua Tagovailoa is “considered unlikely to play again for Miami.”

This is despite the fact that Tagovailoa is owed a staggering $54 million guaranteed in 2026.

The writing has been on the wall for Tua and his time in Miami after the team made the decision to bench him in favor of rookie QB Quinn Ewers a few weeks ago.

Even so, the Dolphins will not have an easy time moving with that kind of guarantee remaining in his contract.

Releasing Tagovailoa would result in a $99 million dead money salary cap charge, which would be the largest in NFL history.

Should Miami designating Tagovailoa as a post June 1 cut, it would split the dead cap to $67.4 million in 2026 and $31.8 million in 2027. Other teams like the Broncos have incurred major cap hits while drafting quarterbacks, so anything is possible.

One consideration is that releasing WR Tyreek Hill could help the Dolphins absorb Tagovailoa’s cap hit. 

Tagovailoa, 27, 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 that included $167 million guaranteed. 

In 2025, Tagovailoa has appeared in 14 games for the Dolphins and completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

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