Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa: No current extension talks as quarterback draftmates get megadeals
Members of the 2020 Draft class have been eligible for contract extensions since the end of the 2022 season and two quarterbacks have already received top-of-market deals.
In April, the Philadelphia Eagles and Jalen Hurts agreed to a five-year, $255 million extension that at the time was the biggest contract in terms of average annual value. And on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Chargers and Justin Herbert reached an agreement on a five-year, $262.5 million deal that surprised Hurts in annual salary.
The Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow is widely considered to be the next player to reset the quarterback market.
In Miami, the Dolphins are tied to Tua Tagovailoa through the 2024 season after exercising his fifth-year option. But there are not currently any talks on a long-term deal, the fourth-year signal-caller said Wednesday.
“I haven’t talked about any contract since what I understood with my fifth-year [option],” Tagovailoa said after Miami’s first training camp practice. “I don’t think that’s a worry of mine. When things come, they’ll come because you either deserve it or it’s supposed to happen that way.”
In 2022, Tagovailoa had a breakout season in which he led the league in passer rating (105.5) and set career-high marks for touchdowns (25) and passing yards (3,548). But he missed five games, including Miami’s season-ending loss to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round, because of a pair of stints in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Despite the spate of injuries, the Dolphins’ front office reaffirmed their belief in Tagovailoa, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 Draft. They quickly exercised his fifth-year option, which fully guaranteed his 2024 base salary of about $23.2 million. It was widely seen as a show of good faith to a quarterback that made significant strides but also allowed a waiting period to see if Tagovailoa could maintain that level of play and stay healthy.
Now, he enters a season that could be rewarding not only for the entire team but for himself financially.
“I think it’s really good for the quarterback market,” Tagovailoa said of the deals for Herbert and Hurts. “It gets me excited. It gets me going. But at the same time, they got what they deserved and I’m happy for them.”
He added: “I’m always a person that wants to prove to myself that I deserve whatever I get. For me, I feel like this is something I need to work for. It’s as plain and simple as that.”
If Tagovailoa is able to get a long-term commitment that pays him upwards of $50 million per year, it will mean he built off a promising season that was undercut by injuries. He made his debut on the NFL’s “Top 100 Players” list, being voted No. 82 by his peers.
Unlike his previous three seasons in the NFL, the first training camp practice felt like a continuation rather than a reset. He enters the 2023 season under the same offensive scheme for the first time in his career. There’s a level of continuity he has said will benefit not only him but the entire unit. The Dolphins were sixth in points scored last season and were one of the most efficient units when Tagovailoa was under center.
“I would equate [the offense] to a language,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. When you’re learning a foreign language, you have to, like, translate in your head.”
He added: “[Tua] was literally speaking a foreign language and doing it at a pretty high level. This year, he owns the language.”
Tagovailoa’s first practice was reminiscent of much of his 2022 season, finding speedy wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle over the middle of the field. The highlight of the approximately hour-long practice was Tagovailoa lofting a pass down the sideline to Waddle, who made an acrobatic, bobbling catch over safety Jevon Holland for a gain of about 40 yards.
As he fielded questions about a potential new contract, the new tattoo sleeve on his right arm — the three-session project is “a piece that represents my first child ... a lot of cultural significance” — Tagovailoa restated his belief that the Dolphins are a top team in the AFC.
“I think if God willing, we can all stay healthy, I think this offense can do crazy things,” he said. “I think we can be dangerous. I think we have the potential to do something really really special for the city of Miami. We can do something special for the organization.”
If it does happen, the journey won’t be documented on the new Netflix series “Quarterback,” a deep dive into the life of an NFL quarterback. Season 1 focused on the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, Vikings’ Kirk Cousins and former Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota. Tagovailoa cited his privacy for declining to be on the show.
“There have been talks about going on it. But I feel like right now, it just isn’t the right time,” he said. “But even too, because I’m a very personal guy. I felt like the series was a lot more about their personal lives than it was about what they did on the football field. For me, that’s not something I like to do, especially show my kid on national television, or people seeing what I do.”
