Can Dolphins trade Tua Tagovailoa? Contract details, landing spots

• The Miami Dolphins have benched quarterback Tua Tagovailoa after being eliminated from the 2025 NFL playoffs.
• Tagovailoa struggled in 2025, leading the league with 15 interceptions through 14 starts.
• Trading or releasing Tagovailoa would result in a significant dead-cap hit for the Dolphins due to his large contract extension.

The Miami Dolphins are making a change at quarterback after being eliminated from the 2025 NFL playoff race.

Tua Tagovailoa will head to the bench while third-string rookie Quinn Ewers leapfrogs Zach Wilson on Miami’s depth chart to take over the starting role.

Tagovailoa’s benching comes after a trying season for the 27-year-old. He led the Dolphins to a 6-8 record in 14 starts while completing 67.7% of his passes for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and a league-high 15 interceptions.

Tagovailoa wasn’t as consistently accurate as he has been throughout his NFL career – his completion percentage was his lowest since 2022 – and he struggled to read the field and challenge defenses vertically.

Will the Dolphins consider moving on from Tagovailoa after his rough season? It’s possible, but doing so would be costly. The easiest way for them to part with the Alabama product would be via trade; but would there be any takers?

Here’s what to know about Tagovailoa’s trade status, contract and potential suitors as he prepares to ride the pine.

Can the Dolphins trade Tua Tagovailoa?

The Dolphins can trade Tagovailoa, but doing so would be costly. The Dolphins would absorb a $45.2 million dead-cap hit – which is a salary cap charge for a player no longer on a team’s roster – if they trade Tagovailoa at any point before the 2026 NFL season, per Spotrac.com.

The timing of trading Tagovailoa would influence when Miami would take on the dead money. If they were to trade him before June 1, the team would be required to absorb the entire $45.2 million dead-cap hit in 2026.

However, if the Dolphins waited until after June 1 to trade Tagovailoa, they would be able to split the cost of his dead cap hit over two years. That would allow the team to take on a $13.4 million dead-cap hit in 2026 and one of $31.8 million in 2027, per Spotrac.com.

Choosing the latter mechanism would create $43 million in cap savings for the Dolphins in 2026 while the former would only come with savings of $11.2 million.

If the Dolphins decide to move on from Tagovailoa, trading him would be, far and away, the preferrable option. Releasing him would be a net negative for the team, as they would take on an unprecedented $99.2 million dead-cap hit by doing so before June 1, which would cost the team a whopping $42.8 million in cap space for 2026.

Even waiting until after June 1 wouldn’t give the Dolphins much relief, as they would take on a $67.4 million dead-cap hit in 2026, which would cost them $11 million in cap space.

Teams have shown an increased willingness to take on monumental dead-cap hits in recent seasons. The most notable example was the record-setting $85 million the Denver Broncos absorbed when releasing Russell Wilson ahead of the 2024 NFL offseason. If Miami brings in a new regime, a similar approach could be taken.

Still, the Dolphins could also view the cost of releasing Tagovailoa as prohibitive. As such, the team’s most likely options with the 27-year-old quarterback are to find a trade partner for him or keep him an extra season, as he has much less guaranteed money remaining on his contract beyond the 2026 NFL season.

Tua Tagovailoa contract details

Tagovailoa is in just the first season of a four-year, $212.4 million extension he signed with the Dolphins before the 2024 NFL season. Below is a full breakdown of the contract, per Spotrac.com.

• Term: 4 years
• Total value: $212.4 million
• Average annual value (AAV): $53.1 million
• Guaranteed money: $167.2 million

Tagovailoa’s contract makes him the NFL’s sixth-highest-paid player in terms of AAV while the total value of his contract ranks 13th among quarterbacks.

The main reason the Dolphins can’t easily release Tagovailoa is the guaranteed money they attached to his contract. A whopping $54 million of his 2026 compensation became guaranteed on March 14, 2025, so Miami will be on the hook for that entire sum, unless they can trade him.

Those guarantees are a main factor in both Tagovailoa’s overall cap hit and the potential dead-cap cost to part with him.

Below is a full look at Tagovailoa’s cap hit by season during his deal:

• 2025: $39.2 million
• 2026: $56.4 million
• 2027: $53.4 million
• 2028: $65.8 million
• 2029 (void year): $11 million

And here is a look at his dead-cap value by year:

• 2025: $137.9 million
• 2026: $99.2 million
• 2027: $31.8 million
• 2028: $18.4 million
• 2029 (void year): $5 million

The $67.4 million drop in dead-cap value from 2026 to 2027 could be enough to convince the Dolphins to give Tagovailoa one more year on the roster, unless a trade partner emerges for the Alabama product.

Tua Tagovailoa landing spots

It will be hard for the Dolphins to find many suitors interested in Tagovailoa given his contract and his poor performance in 2025, which is highlighted by his benching and league-high 15 interceptions.

Still, a few quarterback-needy teams stand out as options for Tagovailoa. Below are some of his potential fits:

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals appear to be heading for a split with Kyler Murray. Arizona could be content to roll with Jacoby Brissett as its starter, given his prolific performance in Murray’s stead, but the Cardinals may still want a long-term starter to pair with the 33-year-old Brissett. Tagovailoa could fit the bill, and it’s worth wondering whether the Dolphins would consider taking on Murray should the two sides discuss a trade.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Geno Smith experiment has not yet worked in Las Vegas. The 35-year-old has led the Raiders to just a 2-11 record across 13 starts while logging an 84.5 passer rating, his lowest as a primary starter since 2014. Tagovailoa could get a chance to be the veteran’s heir apparent, though it’s worth wondering whether the Raiders would be able to afford the expensive lefty given that Smith is already guaranteed $18.5 million of his $26.5 million base salary for 2026.

Minnesota Vikings

J.J. McCarthy has shown signs of life after a woeful start to the 2025 NFL season, posting back-to-back three-touchdown games in wins over the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys. He can solidify his standing as Minnesota’s starter for 2026 if he can continue to perform well down the stretch. However, if he takes a step back, Kevin O’Connell could be interested in adding Tagovailoa as competition for the 22-year-old Michigan product.

Again, the cost of Tagovailoa’s contract might be prohibitive for Minnesota, but the Vikings can’t be discounted as at least a potential location.

Los Angeles Rams

Matthew Stafford is enjoying an MVP-caliber season. He is also 37 years old. What happens if he retires?

Sean McVay and the Rams are expected to have an early draft pick thanks to a 2025 draft day trade with the Atlanta Falcons, but that doesn’t guarantee they would be able to draft Stafford’s successor. That could lead them to get creative if Stafford calls it quits.

Tagovailoa would be a solid fit for Los Angeles’ win-now roster and may benefit from playing in McVay’s quarterback-friendly system. So, while there is not yet an indication Stafford is considering retiring following the season, it’s at least a scenario worth considering.