INDIANAPOLIS — Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said he knew questions about quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s future with the organization would be coming when he stepped up to the lectern at the NFL combine, and the first-year general manager was non-committal about Tagovailoa’s status.

“We’ve had conversations with Tua and his representation,” Sullivan said. “Everything is on the table, including the potential of a trade. We don’t know which way that’s going to go. There are a lot of different factors at play, lot of conversations being had. Evaluating the roster, (backup quarterback) Quinn (Ewers) did a nice job towards the end of the year. Excited about what’s ahead for him. Tua, I thought, even though things didn’t go well at the end of the year, did some good things along the way. It’s my job to infuse competition into that room, along with every other room as we go down the road.”

The salary cap implications for the Dolphins in parting ways with Tagovailoa, whether it be through a trade or outright releasing him, are severe. Cutting Tagovailoa would trigger a $99.2 million cap hit for the Dolphins. Designating Tagovailoa as a post-June 1 cut would soften the blow a little bit in the short term, as that figure would be split between the 2026 and 2027 seasons, but it would still present a significant challenge to the front office in acquiring talent. Trading Tagovailoa is tricky as well. A trade would still result in just over a $45 million dead cap hit in 2026. The greater challenge would be finding another team willing to take on Tagovailoa at his massive contract as he comes off a season in which he finished 26th in the league in QBR and was scrutinized for how he carried himself off the field as well. 

“I think when you’re talking about Tua, or any other player, obviously, there’s a financial component,” Sullivan said. “There’s a level of play component. We’re going to exercise discipline, long-term vision and future withe very decision we make, whether it’s Tua or any other player in our organization.”

However difficult the avenues may be to parting ways with Tagovailoa, reading between the lines of Sullivan’s answers seems to indicate he will not continue his career in Miami. Sullivan, who spent the past 22 years in the Green Bay Packers’ front office, was asked about the possibility of the Dolphins pursuing quarterback Malik Willis in free agency after he had a solid showing in 2025, filling in for an injured Jordan Love. In his answer, Sullivan insinuated the Dolphins were in the market as a quarterback-needy team.

“As it pertains to the Miami Dolphins, listen, I’d be lying to you — any team that is potentially a needy quarterback situation, if they tell you they’re not talking about Malik Willis, that would be a lie,” Sullivan said. “But we’ve talked about a lot of people, a lot of free agents. Malik is just one of them. We have no idea what that’s going to look like in our room. Is it going to be multiple draft picks? Is it going to be a free agent, along with Quinn? Who knows? We have so many factors in play, we got a lot of decisions to make as we move through the next couple of weeks. But I wish Malik the best. A lot of like for the human being. He’s a great kid.”

Sullivan was asked if the Dolphins’ salary cap situation, which is tight even before broaching the Tagovailoa exit possibilities, could sustain parting ways with Tagovailoa and making a play on the free agency market like Willis.

“It’s no secret that we’re in a bit of a strain, salary cap-wise,” Sullivan said. “You can always do what you want to do within the salary cap. That means you have to kick things down the road. We’re in a position, without speaking specifically, we’re in a position where we need to get back into a healthy state, within our salary cap. You look around the league, there are teams that kick the can down the road every year. So, can you? Yes. Will we? I’m not here to say that.”

In speaking to his evaluation of Tagovailoa’s 2025 season, Sullivan took a tone that expressed closure for the Dolphins chapter of Tagovailoa’s career.

“I think Tua had some bright moments. I think Tua, if he was standing here today, would tell you there were some moments he wishes he had back, some decisions he had back,” Sullivan said. “Tua has accomplished a lot of really good things in his time in Miami. I think people who are Miami Dolphins fans should be proud to have had him here. We’ll see where it goes. I think Tua believes that he can still be a high-level quarterback in this league. I think that’s what his desire is to do. Where that happens remains to be seen, whether that’s here or elsewhere.”