Miami Dolphins fans should be thrilled with Tua Tagovailoa extension, here is why

By the time the 2024 off-season is over and the 2024 season begins with training camp, the Miami Dolphins should have Tua Tagovailoa under a new contract.

If the Miami Dolphins do not extend Tua Tagovailoa this offseason, it will be a big surprise. While not guaranteed to happen, a new contract seems to be one of the big priorities for the Dolphins. He will enter the 2024 season playing on the 5th-year option.

I will say this upfront, I do not believe Tua is an elite quarterback. I think he has elite traits. I think he can make the throws necessary to win football games. I also firmly believe that he has limitations that are keeping him from being great.

The biggest question I have is whether or not Tua can become elite. Can he overcome those limitations, correct them, or win in spite of them? The Dolphins are the ones that need to make that decision, ultimately. That will come with a commitment to a new deal.

For me, the Dolphins extending Tua for another 4-years, while expensive, also makes sense. For 20-plus years the Dolphins have been trying to find a quarterback and while no one, not even the rose-colored-glasses-wearing-Tua-does-no-wrong crowd, knows if he can become elite. Sorry, one statistically great year doesn't make a player elite but history shows that Chris Grier likes to reward players for a singular fantastic season - Xavien Howard and Emmanuel Ogbah anyone?

For me, however, Tua can still develop and while I will not compare him to other QBs, I will say that players change with maturity. Can Tua become another Drew Brees? Probably not but the Chargers gave up on him too quickly.

The point of this situation is simple, however, Miami has at the very least a better-than-good QB who is the best they have had in decades. $200 million isn't our money and that is what starting QBs above average are being paid. One sentence continues to stick in my mind when it comes to the Tua extension debate.

Four more years is a small price to pay for certainty.

That certainty covers Miami's future. In another four years, they will know what they have or don't have. A new extension also means that the Dolphins have flexibility with other positions but it does not preclude Miami drafting another QB should they feel Tua may not be the answer.

Tua, in my opinion, is a win-now QB who still has to grow but if we look at his career from the outside, do we really know what he has to offer?

• Rookie season - Dealt with the back-and-forth between himself and Ryan Fitzpatrick

• Second season - Spent the year dealing with trade rumors for DeShaun Watson up until the trade deadline and then animosity from his head coach.

• Third season - Marred by concussions and couldn't play in the postseason.

• Fourth season - Led or was in the top five in most passing statistics. Was named the Pro Bowl starter for the first time and stayed healthy. Started his first postseason game.

Frankly, the progression is not something you can summarily discount. Not as a hater, not as a supporter, and not as someone who sits in the middle. After 20 years of looking for even a serviceable QB, the Dolphins have one that is far more than that.

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