![\"BRIAN](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/web1_20260106_brk_tua01.jpg\")
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BRIAN FLUHARTY-IMAGN IMAGES<\/p>\n
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa walks out of the player tunnel before the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 4.<\/p>\n
MIAMI >> Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa made clear Monday that he would welcome a fresh start with another team but did not go as far as to say that he would request a trade.<\/p>\n
Tagovailoa, who was benched for the final three games of the season, told the Miami Herald and The Palm Beach Post that he \u201cwould be good with\u201d a new opportunity elsewhere.<\/p>\n
The brief exchange began when Tagovailoa was approached at his locker and asked if he\u2019s hoping for a fresh start.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would be dope,\u201d Tagovailoa responded.<\/p>\n
Reporters made sure that he understood the question was about a fresh start elsewhere. Tagovailoa said he understood that.<\/p>\n
Tagovailoa was willing to answer that question on the record but politely declined to comment further. This was the first time he has spoken since Dec. 17, a day after being informed he was being replaced by Quinn Ewers.<\/p>\n
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Tagovailoa said that day that he was \u201cdisappointed\u201d about being benched and \u201cI\u2019m not happy about it.\u201d The benching came just 17 months after Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212.5 million extension, with $167 million guaranteed.<\/p>\n
Coach Mike McDaniel and teammates praised how Tagovailoa handled his benching, noting how he helped prepare Ewers for his starts.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins possibly signaled they\u2019re moving on from Tagovailoa altogether by making him the emergency No. 3 quarterback instead of the No. 2 quarterback for the final three weeks of the season.<\/p>\n
But Tagovailoa\u2019s future will be decided in large part by the team\u2019s next general manager. Miami has requested permission to interview at least six candidates for the GM job.<\/p>\n
McDaniel has declined to fully explain the decision to make Tagovailoa the No. 3 quarterback beyond saying it\u2019s in the best interests of both parties.<\/p>\n
Releasing or trading Tagovailoa would carry a significant financial hit for the Dolphins.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins already have guaranteed Tagovailoa\u2019s $54 million salary for next season, with a $56.4 million cap hit.<\/p>\n
If the Dolphins move on from Tagovailoa this offseason, the Dolphins\u2019 2026 cap hit would be:<\/p>\n
\u2014 $99.2 million if cut before June 1.<\/p>\n
\u2014 $45.2 million if he\u2019s traded before June 1.<\/p>\n
\u2014 $67.4 million if cut after June 1, with another $31.8 million on Miami\u2019s 2027 cap. As overthecap\u2019s Jason Fitzgerald noted, Miami would receive a credit for any salary earned from another team in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u2014 $13.4 million if he\u2019s traded after June 1.<\/p>\n
But finding a team to take on Tagovailoa\u2019s $54 million salary seems unlikely.<\/p>\n
If Tagovailoa is still on the Dolphins\u2019 roster on March 13 (the third day of the 2026 league year), $3 million of his 2027 salary becomes fully guaranteed. Another $17 million would become fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2027 league year.<\/p>\n
But as Fitzgerald noted, that $3 million guarantee for 2027 shouldn\u2019t drive the Dolphins\u2019 decision \u2014 or motivate Miami to release him with a $99 million 2026 cap hit before March 13 \u2014 because the $3 million is a negligible amount and would be offset when he signs with another team.<\/p>\n
In six pro seasons, Tagovailoa, 27, has thrown for 18,166 yards, with 120 touchdowns and 59 interceptions, a 68% completion rate and a 96.4 passer rating.<\/p>\n
But this season, he has 19 touchdowns and a league-leading 15 interceptions and had the league\u2019s fourth-worst QBR at the time of his benching.<\/p>\n
Tagovailoa won only three of his last 15 starts against teams with winning records, and Miami has failed to score more than 17 points in seven of those games.<\/p>\n
McDaniel said owner Stephen Ross had no role in the decision to bench Tagovailoa or replace him with Ewers. McDaniel has declined to discuss whether Tagovailoa has a future with the team in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BRIAN FLUHARTY-IMAGN IMAGES Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa walks out of the player tunnel before the game against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107931,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124,14292],"class_list":["post-107930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-sports-wire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}