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Tua Tagovailoa will watch Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals from the sidelines after the Miami Dolphins benched him for rookie Quinn Ewers, which leaves his future with the only NFL team he has ever known very much in doubt.
“Tua Tagovailoa’s future certainly does not look like it will be in Miami in 2026,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on SportsCenter. “The Dolphins are currently looking for a new general manager, and whoever they hire will decide what happens with Tua. The most likely scenario will be that he would be released.
“However, there is a scenario where maybe they could figure out a trade for him, where they’re giving up some draft compensation and pay down some of his salary, but it doesn’t seem like his future will be in Miami.”
Yet NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport also reported on Tagovailoa (one-minute mark) and suggested “maybe the most likely” scenario is a trade.
“They could simply cut him and eat $99 million of dead cap split over the next two seasons, like the Broncos did with Russell Wilson,” Rapoport said. “They can try to trade him and eat some of that money. That is their preferred option and maybe the most likely.
“They could also keep him as a highly paid backup … that is unlikely.”
Getting anything back in return for the Alabama product would be ideal, but there might not be much of a trade market given his struggles this season and contract that is set to pay him $31 million in base salary in 2027 and $41.4 million in base salary in 2028 unless Miami continues to pay a significant amount of it.
Tagovailoa is just 6-8 as a starter and leads the NFL with 15 interceptions in 2025. The most recent loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers seemed to be the final straw, as the offense didn’t find the end zone until it trailed 28-3 with fewer than 10 minutes remaining.
While Tagovailoa hasn’t fully lived up to the expectations that surrounded him as the No. 5 overall pick of the 2020 NFL draft and has dealt with durability issues at times during his career, another team will surely give him a chance if he is released and a free agent during the upcoming offseason.
After all, it wasn’t long ago he led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards as a Pro Bowler in 2023. He also threw for 3,548 yards in 2022 while helping lead the Dolphins to the playoffs.
As for the rest of this season, it makes sense for the Dolphins to see what they have in Ewers since they are eliminated from the playoff race and playing out the string.
Cincinnati’s defense is also last in the league in points and yards allowed per game in 2025, so this is something of a soft-landing spot for a first career start.
Ewers was a seventh-round pick in the 2025 draft, so Miami likely doesn’t see him as the long-term franchise cornerstone under center. But Sunday will be an opportunity to give the front office something to think about as it evaluates the quarterback position beyond Tagovailoa.