When the Miami Dolphins signed Tua Tagovailoa to a $212.4 million contract extension last year, the NFL team seemed to have secured its quarterback for at least the next five seasons.

Two years in, though, it appears the future has been recast.

On Wednesday, Miami coach Mike McDaniel announced Tagovailoa would serve as the Dolphins’ emergency third quarterback in Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers will start in the spot that the former Alabama All-American had held for all 14 games this season and, when healthy, every game since the sixth contest of his rookie year in 2020.

“I’m not too sure,” Tagovailoa said on Wednesday afternoon when asked if he’d played his last game for Miami. “I can’t predict the future. I can’t predict any of that. It is what it is.”

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With a 6-8 record, the Dolphins have three games remaining in their 25th consecutive season that will not contain a playoff victory.

Tagovailoa has completed 260-of-384 passes for 2,660 yards with 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions for a passing-efficiency rating of 88.5. Among NFL quarterbacks this season, Tagovailoa has thrown the most interceptions while ranking seventh in completion percentage, 17th in passing yards, 16th in touchdown pass and 22nd in passing-efficiency rating.

“I would say the biggest thing — and it’s being honest with myself as well — has been my performance,” Tagovailoa said about his benching. “I haven’t been performing up to the level and the capabilities that I have in the past.”

Tagovailoa had the NFL’s best passing-efficiency rating in 2022. In 2023, Tagovailoa led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards and earned Pro Bowl recognition. Last season, a concussion and a hip injury kept Tagovailoa out of six games, but he placed fourth in the league in average passing yards per game and had the NFL’s highest completion percentage.

This season, Tagovailoa’s completion rate of 67.7 percent is 5 percent lower, his interception rate has more than doubled and he’s averaging 70.6 fewer passing yards per game than he did in 2024. He entered the 2025 season with the ninth-best passing-efficiency rating in NFL history among players with at least 2,000 passes – two spots in front of Tom Brady.

Tagovailoa said last year’s injuries had not affected this year’s performance.

“Naturally, I’d say I’m disappointed,” Tagovailoa said about being benched. “I think it’s normal. It’s a normal human emotion. But, you know, outside of that, I’ve got to do my part. My role here right now is to help whoever the quarterback is going to be for this team, to lead this team. Help in whatever way I can, you know, to help the team win this game on Sunday. …

“I mean, I’m not happy about it, but, you know, it’s something out of my control.”

Tagovailoa said he had no reservations about helping Ewers prepare to play.

“I think it’s a lot bigger than football, at times, and the individual aspect of it,” Tagovailoa said. “I love this team. I love the guys on this team. I’ve created great relationships with these guys on the team. But at the end of the day, it’s out of my control, as I’ve said. I’ve got to do what I can to help whatever that role looks like.”

If Tagovailoa is with the Dolphins next season, he’ll cost Miami $57 million. His contract includes a guarantee of $54 million for the 2026 season, and $3 million of his 2027 salary becomes guaranteed if Tagovailoa is on the team’s roster three days after the next free-agency period begins in March.

If the Dolphins release Tagovailoa before then, he will count $99.2 million against their 2026 salary cap – about one-third of the team’s total to spend. Some NFL bookkeeping regulations could reduce that number to $67.4 million in 2026, with the other $31.8 million in dead money kicked down the road to the 2027 salary cap.

While Tagovailoa said his future as Miami’s starting quarterback was now “out of my control,” he hoped to get something good out of the experience.

“I think you have to look at it as a positive,” Tagovailoa said. “I’m sure you can look at some of the things and learn from the negatives, but you’ve got to be able to take some of the positives from that, too. This is a good time for me to also reflect on a lot of the things that have happened throughout the season.”