When the 2026 season begins, Tua Tagovailoa may not be a part of the Miami Dolphins, and he may not even be a part of the NFL. After several concussions, a broken hip, another hip injury, and a clear regression in his playing style, the future doesn't look good.
The question that fans are waiting to have answered is how Miami will move on from the QB. They could release him outright and eat $99 million in dead money. They could cut him as a post-June 1st release and eat $67 million this year and another $37 next year. Or they could trade him. That isn't a promising option.
What went wrong with Tagovailoa? He apparently didn't just lose his ability to play the position; he lost his drive. Former Dolphins long snapper Jake Ferguson saw it all up close. Earlier this week, he spoke with the crew on The Dive Bar Podcast.
Blake Ferguson defends Tua Tagovailoa, but sees the same thing Miami Dolphins fans see
Ferguson said the team was watching him in "slow motion." Through his injuries and his play, things were changing. He likened it to keeping papier-mache held together.
The former Dolphins also pointed out how hard it is to win in a league when your most important players aren't available. Tagovailoa missed a lot of time, especially at the end of the season when the Dolphins were hoping to get into the playoffs.
"It's hard enough to win in the NFL, but it's harder when your quarterback isn't there all the time. It's not his fault; he was giving everything he had to the team, and sometimes he would put himself in harm's way. "Blake Ferguson
Ferguson made it clear that Tagovailoa is a great guy and teammate, and he sees a future for him in the NFL, just not necessarily with the Dolphins. As he said, "At some point, you have to admit your losses. That you put yourself in a bad position, and you move on."
It's not Earth-shattering news. Fans have seen Tagovailoa slowly regress over the last two seasons, and you could argue that the final stretch of 2023 was actually the start of it all. Whether it was the QB's problems or Mike McDaniel's isn't fully clear, but both played a big role in the Dolphins squandering their talent.
The Dolphins, however, are not in this situation because Tagovailoa wasn't good at his job or couldn't stay healthy. They are not in this position because McDaniel couldn't learn the simplest of lessons from previous mistakes.
The Dolphins are where they are now because they invested far too much money in players whose names were bigger than what they brought to the team. Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Austin Jackson, Bradley Chubb, and Jalen Ramsey all come to mind. By this time next year, all of them could be gone, and all of them should be.