Tua Tagovailoa holds the future of the Miami Dolphins with his contract. No matter what the Dolphins do, he will cost them a lot of money. Ian Rapoport, however, doesn't see this as a big problem.
No one believes that Tagovailoa will be back, at least not most. Theoretically, it is possible, but the contract numbers make any decision Jon-Eric Sullivan makes costly. Rapoport sees an avenue that isn't often discussed. The potential trade.
Ian Rapoport tells Jim Rome he’d be surprised if Tua remains with the Dolphins and is intrigued by Quinn Ewers. pic.twitter.com/QbZBtUoo1O
— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) February 5, 2026
Ian Rapoport believes the Miami Dolphins can trade Tua Tagovailoa
Trading Tua Tagovailoa seems like such a long shot. On the surface, it would appear that the waters will be too rough to navigate. Finding a trade partner will be a problem. So is the contract. Rapoport doesn't see this as a problem, however. At least not an insurmountable one.
"I would be surprised if Tua is in Miami. I think they can trade him, but they are going to have to eat a lot of the contract. That's O.K. because they are going to pay it anyway."Ian Rapoport
The NFL insider sees the avenue pretty clearly. In his opinion, the Dolphins will pay $30 million or more regardless of what they decide to do, so trading him and agreeing to take on that money makes good business sense. In a trade, no matter the return size, they will get something back.
The market for Tagovailoa is unknown, but NFL fans have learned one thing, if nothing else, about quarterbacks. There is a high demand for QBs with starting experience. In Tagovailoa's case, his experience comes with winning and regression. There is still a lot to work with, though.
Bobby Slowik recently said that he believes Tagovialoa can turn it around. It is possible, given the current state of NFL rosters, that Tagovailoa could have a larger market than anticipated. Teams won't be looking for a guaranteed franchise quarterback, but they could be looking for a one or two-year bridge.
If free agent-to-be Malik Willis is expected to earn $40 million on a contract, getting Tagovailoa for pennies, much like the Steelers got Russell Wilson for, makes sense. It's a low-risk venture, provided the Dolphins take on money they would pay anyway if they cut him.
Rapoport makes a lot of sense with this take. The question is, will a team or teams want to take that risk as well?