It appears that the end of the Tua Tagovailoa era is upon us. The Miami Dolphins have made the decision to bench the former first-round pick and roll with Quinn Ewers for the final three games of the 2025 regular season. The decision comes after an up-and-down season from Tagovailoa, and now, despite his hefty contract, the Dolphins will likely move on from their former fifth overall pick.
What comes next for Tagovailoa? With the Dolphins benching him, there's clearly no place for him in Miami anymore, which means a trade is imminent. Which teams make sense as a potential landing spot for the former Alabama signal-caller?
3 teams that Miami Dolphins should be calling to gauge interest in Tua Tagovailoa
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are in a similar spot as the Dolphins, having drafted Kyler Murray in the first round, extending him after a few years, and then essentially benching him this year. Murray only started five games for the Cardinals in 2025, and the writing is on the wall as far as his future in Arizona.
Maybe the Dolphins and Cardinals end up simply swapping quarterbacks here, which would send Tua to Arizona and bring Murray to Miami. Murray wouldn't be the long-term answer for the Dolphins, but considering they won't have a high draft pick, he'd at least give them another quarterback option for 2026 if Ewers struggles in these final games.
The Cardinals should hold a top-10 pick in next year's draft, and while they could use that pick on a quarterback, are there enough quarterbacks worth taking that high? That'll be the dilemma for the Cardinals and why adding Tagovailoa could make sense for them.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts looked to have their franchise quarterback in Daniel Jones, but a season-ending injury has now forced them to reevaluate there. Anthony Richardson's been dealing with an injury this year and has been inconsistent when he's been on the field. Riley Leonard is a sixth-round rookie, and Philip Rivers is 44 years old.
Throw all of that together and, yeah, it makes sense why Tagovailoa could be a fit for the Colts. He'd have a solid offensive line and great weapons to throw to in Indianapolis, so this could actually make some sense. Jones showed that quarterbacks could have redemption arcs under Shane Steichen, so why couldn't Tua also fall into that category?
Las Vegas Raiders
The Geno Smith era did not work out for the Raiders, and that's putting it nicely. Smith has regressed mightily since arriving in Las Vegas, and it's as clear as ever that the Raiders will be looking for a new quarterback in 2026. Tagovailoa could make sense for them, and he'd have Brock Bowers to throw to and Ashton Jeanty to hand the ball off to.
It's worth noting that the Raiders have a realistic chance at landing the number one pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. If they end up with the top pick, they're definitely going to take Indiana's Fernado Mendoza and would then likely search for a less expensive backup. If another team manages to land the top spot and the Raiders don't trade up, Tagovailoa could be someone worth looking at.