Unlike Tua Tagovailoa, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has been a journeyman quarterback. After Super Bowl LX, he is also a winning QB. The former Jets first-round QB just won his first Super Bowl.
Tagovailoa hasn't changed teams; that could happen this offseason. He has, however, gone through two head coaches with poor results. Many see that his only chance to turn around his career is to get a fresh start somewhere other than Miami. It worked for Darnold.
After leaving the Jets, Darnold spent time with the Panthers, 49ers, and Vikings before landing in Seattle. He can put Super Bowl winner next to his name after Sunday night.
Tua Tagovailoa may eventually find success away from the Miami Dolphins
It took eight years and five NFL teams for Darnold to reach the Super Bowl. For Tagovailoa, it might take a similar road to find a team willing to put their trust in him. Like Darnold, the expectations won't be high.
Darnold spoke with NBC after the game and needless to say, his journey wasn't lost on him.
"“It’s unbelievable,” Darnold said. “Everything that’s happened in my career, but to do it with this team — I wouldn’t want it any other way."Sam Darnold
It was another quote from Darnold that Tagovailoa should write down and pin to whatever locker he holds in his future. “As long as you believe in yourself, anything is possible.”
Over the course of the last week, Tagovailoa has been mentioned as a likely pre-free agency cut, a potential trade option for QB-needy teams, and a massive cap hit no matter what happens. For all of the trouble that Tagovailoa has gone through since being drafted in 2020, it is what happens next that might be the defining epitaph to his NFL career, or what he doesn't do.
The Dolphins, whether it is this year or next, will move on from Tagovailoa. It's only a matter of when and how. The Jets only gave Darnold three seasons; the Dolphins have given Tagovailoa six. Those six years produced two playoff seasons, but only one with him as the starting quarterback in the postseason.
If Tagovailoa is hoping to someday hoist the Lombardi Trophy, he will need to believe in himself as well, and to do that, he needs to get out of Miami.