INDIANAPOLIS – The Miami Dolphins continue to sort through potential situations with the future of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
New general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, speaking Tuesday from the NFL Scouting Combine, addressed Tua’s difficult situation.
“We have had conversations with Tua and his representatives,” the GM said. “Everything is on the table, including the possibility of a trade. We don’t know which way it’s going to go. There’s a lot of different factors at play, a lot of conversations going on… Tua, I thought, even though things didn’t go well at the end of the year, did some good things along the way. And it’s my job to bring all the other avenues into the room as well as going down into the room.”
Reading between the lines, the Dolphins still hold out hope that a team could swoop in to trade for Tagovailoa, but ultimately Miami may be forced to bite the bullet and release the QB, taking on roughly $99 million in dead money — potentially traded over two years with a post-June 1 designation.
The quarterback’s future in Miami appeared to be settled when he was benched by the former staff. The new brass have done little to change the assumption that the club will move on from their previous first-round pick.
“I think Tua had some bright moments,” Sullivan said. “I think Tua, if he was standing here today, he would tell you that there are some moments that he wishes he could take back, some decisions that he would have taken back. Tua accomplished a lot or has accomplished a lot of very good things in his time in Miami. I think people who are Miami Dolphins fans should be proud to have him here, and we’ll see where it goes. I think that’s what he wants to do, you know, where it happens after come to light, whether here or elsewhere.”
The big question is how the Dolphins can move on from Tagovailoa while still building a contending squad in Year 1 under Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley.
“Obviously, it’s no secret that we’re in a bit of a stretch in terms of the salary cap,” Sullivan said. “I think you can always do what you want to do within the salary cap. It means you’ve got to kick things down the road. We’re in a position, without talking specifically, I think we’re in a position where we need to get back to a healthy state within our salary cap. So yeah, I mean, I think anytime you look around the league, there’s teams that kick the can down the road every week, so we can’t say here? that.”