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Former Pro Bowler Keyshawn Johnson believes the Dolphins may be able to salvage Tua Tagovailoa
The Miami Dolphins appear set for a full-scale rebuild. They have already hired a new general manager (Jon-Eric Robinson) and a new head coach (Jeff Hafley) this offseason, and it seems like they won’t be bringing Tua Tagovailoa back to be their starting quarterback in 2026 after he was benched late in the season.
The leaguewide expectation is that Tagovailoa and the Dolphins will part ways this offseason, although nothing is set in stone yet. Miami could decide it’s too soon to give up on its expensive southpaw passer, and former Pro Bowl wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson recently made a case for the team to hold onto Tagovailoa and potentially even give him another shot under center.
Keyshawn Johnson Defends Tua Tagovailoa
Tua Tagovailoa’s future may not be in Miami, but at 27, the idea of a rebound season with a different team isn’t unrealistic.
@keyshawn
The Dolphins selected Tagovailoa with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, in hopes that he could become their quarterback of the future. For a point in time, it looked like Tagovailoa was going to be that guy for Miami, as he appeared to make a star turn in 2023 when he led the league with 4,624 passing yards and 29 touchdowns.
Everything has fallen apart for Tagovailoa over the past two years, though. Injuries likely haven’t helped him much, but Tagovailoa has looked like a shell of himself under center as of late, and as mentioned above, he was so bad that he got benched in favor of seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers late in the year.
Reports have indicated that the Dolphins are hoping to move on from Tagovailoa this offseason, even though his mammoth four-year, $212.4 million contract will make that very expensive. Of course, they could always keep Tagovailoa and give him another shot, which is what Johnson recently suggested, citing the quarterback’s ceiling as a reason to keep him around.
“He’s done it at a high level at Alabama,” Johnson said of Tagovailoa on “The Schultz Report.” “I’ve seen the Miami Dolphins winning when he’s healthy, and I’ve seen the Miami Dolphins without him. That tells me if he got the right coach in the right situation that understands the player, you can work miracles with him.”
What Should the Dolphins Do with Tua Tagovailoa?
The Dolphins will likely be unable to trade Tua Tagovailoa
As Johnson said, the situation likely has to be right in order for Tagovailoa to succeed. We briefly saw what that looked like in 2023, but once things crumbled around him, Tagovailoa began to fall apart as well. With a defensive-minded, first-time head coach in Hafley taking over, it’s fair to assume that he likely would not be the right guy to help the struggling quarterback get back on track.
There are other situations across the league that would certainly be intriguing for Tagovailoa, though. The problem, at least for the Dolphins, is his contract, as that makes it nearly impossible to trade him. And if Miami wants to release him, it would have to eat quite a bit of money for each of the next few years in order to make it happen. Given how bad Tagovailoa has been as of late, though, it seems like this new regime is intent on getting rid of him this offseason.
Owen Crisafulli Owen Crisafulli is a Breaking News Writer at Heavy. In addition to writing for Heavy, Owen works as a Content Producer for More Views Media. His work has also appeared on ClutchPoints, The Sporting News, Athlon Sports, Basketball Network, and FanSided, where he shared his insights on a variety of sports topics primarily surrounding the NFL, NBA, and MLB. More about Owen Crisafulli
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