With the Dolphins seemingly ready to turn the page, the next question is obvious. Where does Tua Tagovailoa go next?
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As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has pointed out, there will be no shortage of teams shopping for quarterbacks this offseason. And while Tagovailoa's time in Miami looks headed for an awkward ending, the résumé still matters. When the play is clean and the first read is there, Tua can run an offense at a high level.
The trouble starts when things break down.
Former Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard, speaking earlier this season after Indianapolis routed Miami in Week one, put it bluntly. If the first read is taken away, Howard said, Tua goes into "panic mode."
Florio has echoed that assessment repeatedly. When pressure arrives, Tagovailoa freezes. He does not throw the ball away. He does not escape. He does not create off script the way Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson can. The play simply dies.
Miami tried to coach around it. Brian Flores tried. Mike McDaniel tried. Six seasons later, the issue remains. That said, as Florio notes, another coach may look at the same tape and believe he can finally fix it.
That belief will shape the market.
Teams that could be looking for a veteran quarterback include the Jets, Steelers, Browns, Raiders, Vikings, Falcons and Cardinals, per Florio's analysis. If Miami releases Tagovailoa, he could sign elsewhere on a low-risk deal, similar to how Pittsburgh approached Russell Wilson. For the right team, it becomes a gamble worth taking.
If interest is strong enough, a trade is also possible, even if Miami has to absorb part of his salary.
It is not an easy fix. But quarterbacks do not earn $53.1 million per year without real ability. As Florio has made clear, someone will convince themselves they can get more out of Tua than the Dolphins ever did.
