It was evident that Tua Tagovailoa’s time with the Miami Dolphins was winding down when the former head coach, Mike McDaniel, benched him for the final three games of the 2025 regular season. Now, with a new regime in place in Miami, that shift has officially arrived. The Dolphins have released the quarterback after his six-year run, making one of the most expensive roster cuts in the history of the league.

“I recently informed Tua and his representation that we are going to move in a new direction at the quarterback position and will be releasing him after the start of the new league year,” new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan’s statement read. “As I shared with Tua, I have respect for the person and player he is. On behalf of the Miami Dolphins, I expressed our gratitude for his many contributions, both on the field and in the community, during his six seasons in Miami.

“As we move forward, we will be focused on infusing competition across the roster and establishing a strong foundation for this team as we work towards building a sustained winner.”

Tagovailoa’s release comes after Miami was unable to find a suitable trade partner. And the financial fallout from that decision is significant. In fact, the Dolphins have now made NFL history, as the move leaves them with an NFL-record $99 million in dead money against the salary cap.

Just a couple of years ago, the situation looked very different. Miami signed Tagovailoa to a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension following a strong 2023 campaign in which he went 11–6 and led the league in passing yards, a performance that pushed him into the tier of the league’s highest-paid quarterbacks.

That deal, however, didn’t age the way the franchise had hoped. Tagovailoa was unable to replicate that 2023 production, and the new leadership group ultimately decided to reset the position.

Now his release stands as one of the first major decisions of the new regime in Miami. And it comes with massive salary-cap consequences.

For broader context, the Dolphins still carry Tagovailoa’s fully guaranteed $54 million salary for the 2026 season. On top of that, the franchise applied a post-June 1 designation to the move. That mechanism allows the $99 million dead-cap hit to be split across two seasons once the new league year begins on Wednesday.

With that designation in place, Miami will absorb $66.7 million in dead money in 2026, which is actually $11.1 million more than if they had simply kept Tagovailoa on the roster and another $32.5 million in 2027.

Considering the league’s $301.2 million salary cap for the 2026 season, Tagovailoa’s release leaves the Dolphins sitting roughly $7.8 million over the cap.

And with Sullivan seemingly preparing for a significant rebuild heading into 2026, Tagovailoa’s run in Miami now ends in a way that feels a bit incomplete, the story of a quarterback who once looked like the franchise cornerstone but ultimately never quite became it.

Tua Tagovailoa’s fall from a franchise QB to the bench

The Dolphins’ longtime general manager, Chris Grier, selected Tua Tagovailoa with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. His early seasons weren’t exactly elite, but there were enough flashes to keep people intrigued. As a rookie, the now 28-year-old went 6–3 in nine starts. He followed that up with a 7–5 record in 2021 and then 8–5 in 2022.

The 2022 season, in particular, felt like a turning point. Tagovailoa led the Dolphins to the postseason for the first time in six years. The momentum, however, didn’t fully carry into January. Multiple head injuries and concussions forced him to miss the playoff game, which Miami eventually lost.

Still, Tagovailoa came back the next season looking sharp.

He started every game in 2023, guided Miami to an 11–6 record, and led the NFL in passing yards with 4,624. As that happened, the Dolphins rewarded him with a massive contract extension. But looking back now, that deal also marked the moment things began to shift.

The downturn started the very next year. Early in the 2024 season, Tagovailoa suffered another concussion that landed him on injured reserve. He ultimately made 11 starts that season, with Miami going 6–5 in those games.

Then came 2025, which turned into the roughest chapter of his Dolphins tenure. Tagovailoa lost his top target, Tyreek Hill, to a season-ending injury, and his performance took a noticeable step back.

Miami stumbled out to a 1–6 start. By the time the season was winding down, the coaching staff made the call to bench Tagovailoa for the final three games of the regular season. Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers stepped in after the benching, and the expectation around the league is that Miami could either move forward with Ewers or bring in a veteran once free agency opens.

As for Tagovailoa, his next chapter will almost certainly come elsewhere, especially with several teams across the league still searching for help at quarterback.

Potential suitors for Tua Tagovailoa following his departure from Miami

New York Jets: The Jets have been in rebuilding mode for years now, but the results haven’t really followed. Last season was another example of that. Justin Fields struggled in Aaron Glenn’s first year as head coach, and the team ended up rotating through multiple quarterbacks over the course of the season.

At the moment, the Jets hold the longest active playoff drought in the league, and they don’t exactly look like a contender heading into 2026 either. That’s where Tua Tagovailoa could enter the picture. Given the instability in the quarterback room, the Jets could at least consider bringing in Tua as a potential solution.

Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers haven’t necessarily been a bad team in recent years. Their bigger issue has been the January success. With Mike McCarthy now leading the team, the quarterback position could become a long-term question sooner rather than later.

For now, Aaron Rodgers is expected to return for one more season. Pittsburgh also has Will Howard and Mason Rudolph on the roster. But if Rodgers decides to hang up his cleats instead, Tagovailoa could quickly emerge as an option for the Steelers.

Minnesota Vikings: Kevin O’Connell has built a reputation for developing quarterbacks. That process didn’t really get going in 2025, largely because of J. J. McCarthy’s injury issues.

McCarthy is still the likely starter heading into the 2026 season. But given the concerns around his health, the Vikings probably wouldn’t mind having a veteran presence like Tagovailoa on the roster as insurance.

Los Angeles Chargers: The Chargers already have their franchise quarterback in Justin Herbert. Still, Tagovailoa could draw some level of interest from Jim Harbaugh’s team. The reason is fairly simple. Los Angeles is heading into the 2026 season with a new offensive coordinator, Mike McDaniel, who also happens to be Tagovailoa’s former head coach in Miami. That existing familiarity could make the Chargers an intriguing landing spot.

With free agency just days away, the bigger question now is where Tagovailoa ultimately lands for the 2026 season.