What stands out about Tua Tagovailoa\u2019s impending exit is how it\u2019s the easiest decision of this new Miami Dolphins regime\u2019s ragged inheritance.<\/p>\n
Solving the salary-cap chaos, weeding out the front office, rebuilding the rickety roster, deciding on fair contracts to players while dropping the pay-everyone lavishness of recent years \u2014 that\u2019s all a fragrant bedpan new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan inherited.<\/p>\n
But Ta-ta-to-Tua?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not a football or, by now, a financial decision. Owner Steve Ross signed off on getting no return on the $99 million owed Tua in hiring this new regime. So, it\u2019s a diplomatic decision at this point. It\u2019s:\u00a0 How does The New Guy show how he works in his opening steps?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear Tua will be dumped \u2014 oops, there\u2019s no need for a pejorative verb like that. Tua wasn\u2019t a bad guy with the Dolphins. Odd, at times. But aren\u2019t we all?<\/p>\n
Sullivan had the right tone in answering a question about Tua and the quarterback issue in a function for select ticket holders Thursday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, we\u2019ll be looking at other quarterbacks in this draft and every draft hereafter,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cBut, look, Tua was in my office the other day, if I\u2019m being perfectly frank. We had a great conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cTua has been a very good player in this league. He\u2019s done a lot of really good things for the Miami Dolphins. You guys should be proud to have him and having had him.\u201d<\/p>\n
He concluded: \u201cWe\u2019re getting close to a decision. When we do we\u2019ll let Tua know whether he\u2019s going to be part of this or not. And we\u2019ll move forward. But rest assured that we will add competition to that room one way or the other to make it the best that we can.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the way it\u2019s done. The only way Sullivan can be any nicer for his next meeting with Tua is by channeling the George Clooney character in \u201cUp In The Air,\u201d who fired people by saying, \u201cAnyone who has ever built an empire or changed the world sat where you are now.\u201d (A Sam Darnold, Jets-to-Super Bowl reference would work, too).<\/p>\n
Again, they\u2019re moving on from Tua. As they should. As they must. As anyone who saw him play last season or, let\u2019s be honest, how the Dolphins had to navigate the last few seasons, must agree.<\/p>\n
This is best for Tua, too, as he knows (Cue his, \u201cIt\u2019d be dope,\u201d quote in December). The more intriguing question is if he wants to play on in the NFL or just wants his money. He won\u2019t retire and walk away from $99 million \u2014 would you?<\/p>\n
But does he love football enough to try to claw his way up from a backup role over the next few years, even with his obvious health issues? Again, would you?<\/p>\n
Back to the Dolphins. Their biggest contract will remain their biggest headache for a third year running \u2014 you know, since they showed Tua the money. That\u2019s done. There\u2019s no need to run more tire tracks over the old regime for not knowing what they were doing. (I\u2019d need new tires, too).<\/p>\n
Could the Dolphins trade Tua? Maybe by eating tens of millions and offering draft picks. Bottom-line: There\u2019s no market for a six-year veteran with a big contract and health issues who was benched for a seventh-round rookie.<\/p>\n
Could the Dolphins keep Tua to get something for his money? \u00a0A new regime deserves a fresh start. That means the quarterbacks, too. Whoever the starter is doesn\u2019t need to have a few bad games and hear people whisper about Tua. Anyone who\u2019s seen Tua play of late really doesn\u2019t want to whisper that, either.<\/p>\n
The best part of a new regime is everyone turns the page to Page One. Old problems get rebranded as new opportunities. Surely, you\u2019ve done this dance step enough times over the past two decades with the Dolphins to have muscle memory how it works.<\/p>\n
Sullivan inherits the worst mess of any of the rebuilds. The bloated salary cap. The defense without a proven cornerback or pass rusher. The offense without a quarterback and needing help at receiver, tight end, guard and maybe a tackle.<\/p>\n
In that context, Ta-Ta-To-Tua isn\u2019t some complicated decision. It\u2019s diplomacy. Be nice. Wish him well. And hope the new regime fixes this franchise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What stands out about Tua Tagovailoa\u2019s impending exit is how it\u2019s the easiest decision of this new Miami…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":749889,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2049],"tags":[58638,217,7,929,216,251,2087,6,9],"class_list":{"0":"post-749888","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-dolphins","8":"tag-dave-hyde-columns","9":"tag-dolphins","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-latest-headlines","12":"tag-miami","13":"tag-miami-dolphins","14":"tag-miamidolphins","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116064879188721350","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=749888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/749889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=749888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=749888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=749888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}