Miami Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa watches Herbert record-breaking deal, knows how important 2023 is
By Brian Miller
The Los Angeles Chargers gave Justin Herbert a massive contract extension today and the Miami Dolphins better take notice of it because they are going to have pay Tua Tagovailoa the same and probably more.
Herbert's contract will extend his current contract through the 2029 season and will pay him more than $260 million.
Over the last year the NFL has seen QB contracts go out of this world.
- Jalen Hurts - 5 years - $255 million
- Lamar Jackson - 5 years - $260 million
- Justin Herbert - 5 years - 262.5 million
The wait now will be on Joe Burrow, the 2020 number one overall draft pick who has led his team to a Super Bowl and another AFC Championship game. His contract will undoubtedly clear Herberts and somewhere in between his and Herberts, will be Tua's...but it could end up being more.
The problem the Dolphins are facing with Tua is that they still don't honestly know if Tua will be able to stay healthy for a full season. If he does, it will be his first since being drafted. Tua, despite the nearly elite talent he has when healthy, is still a question no matter how you look at it.
If Tua can stay healthy this year and lead the team to a deep playoff run, the Dolphins might still find it smarter to run it back in 2024 and see if he can do it another year and then, regardless, they have to bite the bullet and spend more money on a player than they ever have in the history of the franchise.
Is Tua worth that much money? Well you can argue that no player is but if that is the rate, it's hard to say he isn't. When he was healthy last year he was electric but again, there is a shadow that lingers over him.
It is the reason alone that we are not hearing of the Dolphins and Tua talking about a long-term deal while the other two QBs from his draft class have all been given new deals.