Tua Tagovailoa's fate with the Dolphins was clear long before his release

Tua Tagovailoa's time with the Miami Dolphins came to an abrupt end this week, and everyone knew it was coming. They just didn't want to admit it.

Jon-Eric Sullivan wanted to trade Tagovailoa. It would have taken a lot of creativity to make that happen. It probably would have taken a lot of draft capital to convince another team to take part of that salary. If Minkah Fitzpatrick was going to be traded for a 7th round pick, Tagovailoa was going to cost the Dolphins at least a day two selection, if not more.

Question after question, but no answers. The Dolphins had only two realistic options. Trade him, see above, or release him. There was no more talk of retaining him through the 2026 season. Miami took one of the other options.

Tua Tagovailoa had zero value to the Miami Dolphins and vice versa

At one point, there was a chance, an opportunity if you will, to keep Tagovailoa on the roster. Miami could have let him compete for the starting job, they could have found an injury that would keep him off the roster, and they could have taken on the additional $3 million cap hit on March 13th when his guarantees kicked in.

Could have, would have, should have. The truth is that since Sullivan arrived, they have never backed Tagovailoa. Not once. The flippant comments about Tagovailoa possibly competing are exactly that, flippant. No one had backed Tagovailoa.

On his birthday, the Dolphins didn't mention it on social media. They have every single year since he was drafted. Tagovailoa was as good as gone; the only question left to be answered was how. On Monday morning, the Dolphins released a statement officially ending his career. The social media team that skipped over his recent birthday took to the platforms to thank him for his time in South Florida.

Even if the Dolphins had had a sudden change of heart, Tagovailoa would not have wanted to come back, not anymore. Tagovailoa endured the wrath of Brian Flores and the Deshaun Watson trade talk. He endured the lack of support, and he admitted that it was hard to go through. Now it is all back in his face once again.

Tagovailoa has said that a change of scenery might not be a bad thing. He will now get that chance with the Atlanta Falcons, and maybe he will re-emerge as a quality starter.

For now, though, Tagovailoa will be remembered as the biggest financial mistake in the franchise's history. It will be felt for years, but there is no other way around it. The band-aid needed to be ripped off. Now, it's time to see if Malik Willis can be the answer at QB, even for just a short time.