Tua TagovailoaĀ has yet to ink a substantial deal with theĀ Miami DolphinsĀ as it seems like the team is planning to wait it out on his contract update right now. According to sources, the team wants to retain the QB in the future, but for now, he must go through the 2024 season with a fifth-year option without signing a long-term extension. This 5th-year arrangement will pay him about $23 million.
Tagovailoa hasnāt won a single playoff game ever since he joined the league, which might be one of the reasons why the Dolphins are holding out. Omar Kelly reported that the Dolphins want to give the QB the biggest deal in the franchiseās history, but matters donāt seem to be most optimistic at the moment. Meanwhile, Tuaās teammateĀ Jalen Ramsey, seems to have a direct demand that the QB be treated more efficiently.
Jalen Ramsey wants whatās best for Tua Tagovailoa!
The Miami Dolphins CB and their QB went golfing together during which they had been keeping scores. But the intent behind the score-keeping seemed to be completely different once Ramsey uploaded the same in his Instagram story. TheĀ StoryĀ that Ramsey shared was captioned, ā3Ā time golfing togetherā¦Iām only sharing this time because Uce killed it!ā
But upon a closer look at the picture, it becomes evident that the center of the page read,Ā āPAY TUA!!!āĀ when put together. The CB also tagged the Miami Dolphins on his IG Story to make sure the team sees his story. But itās not just Jalen Ramsey, his teammate Tyreek Hill has been one of Tuaās biggest proponents ever since he joined with the Dolphins.
Tagovailoa helped Tyreek Hill get 119 receptions over 1,799 yards and 13 touchdowns in the last season, making Hill one of the most coveted wideouts in the league. Because of their mutual efforts, the QB-WR duo shines bright in the team. For his own stats, throughout the years, the QB has shown constant improvement. In his rookie year, the QB had 1,814 yards in his pocket. In the following 2021 season, he had 2,653 yards and 10 TDs after playing 13 games.
The next year, he played the same amount of games and had more than 3,500 yards in his pocket, along with 25 touchdowns. But his most recent 2023 season was the best one of his career, with 4,624 yards, 29 touchdowns, and playing all of his games. His number seems to blow up year by year and the improvement is obviously visible.
The team hiring Odell Beckham Jr. is also a factor to be taken into account because him and Hill will be a huge help going ahead for Tua Tagovailoa. But, despite Tuaās focus and his teammates backing him up, the Dolphins have stayed silent, and they might have their reasons behind it.
Amidst all this, the QB was in a Luau hosting his charity event and seemed nonchalant about his contract.Ā āJust letting my agent deal with that and talk to the team about that,āĀ Tagovailoa told the local media Thursday.Ā āFor me, my focus is when OTAs come, go to OTAs, show up and be the best teammate I can be.ā
Will the QB get a long-term deal?
In the past four seasons, the QB holds a 32-19 record, but the team hasnāt won a playoff game since 2000. Despite having 4 winning seasons in a row, the QB didnāt quite get up to the ranks ofĀ Joe Burrow,Ā Jalen HurtsĀ orĀ Justin Herbert, who are some of the highest paid QBs in the league right now and joined at the same time as Tagovailoa did. The difference is that Tuaās peers have been winning playoff games
USA Today via Reuters
However, to deliver what was promised of him, the QB has been making efforts to slim down and work on his throwing motion in collaboration with companies like 3DQB and Per4orm to carve out a better version of himself going into the next season. If everything goes well and Tua actually starts winning, he might bag a long-term deal with the team. Moreover, the QB has a special place for Miami in his heart.
āThis definitely feels like home to me. This is where both my kids were born, where we are going to raise my family,āĀ Tagovailoa said.Ā āThis is the city that chose me to be their QB. Iām very grateful and honored for that.āĀ Thereās still hope that good things are in store for the Miami Dolphins QB.