Adam Schefter: 'There's a feeling' Tua Tagovailoa has played final game with Miami Dolphins

When new Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan met with reporters Thursday for the first time, he declined to comment much on the quarterback situation. Tua Tagovailoa is entering the third year of a 4-year, $212.4 million contract extension, and questions are swirling about his future amid last season’s struggles.

After Sullivan’s comments, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said there’s a sense around the NFL that Tagovailoa’s days in Miami are numbered. The biggest hurdle will be the $99.2 million dead cap hit.

Schefter said Sullivan and new Miami head coach Jeff Hafley – both of whom come in from the Green Bay Packers – will have to figure out how to navigate that number. There is a potential out in Tagovailoa’s deal after 2026 with a $34.8 million dead cap hit, according to Spotrac. However, going into this offseason, that number sits at $99.2 million.

“You heard Jon-Eric Sullivan, the new Dolphins general manger there, be non-committal to Tua Tagovailoa,” Schefter said on NFL Live. “They obviously need to speak with him before they make any public pronouncements, but there’s a feeling around the league that has persisted that Tua Tagovailoa has played his last down in Miami. The only question now is how and when the team moves on from him – whether the Dolphins want to swallow one $99 million dead cap hit one whole fell swoop or whether they want to spread it out to two years. That’s the decision that the two former Packers employees will have to come to.

“But the biggest challenge that group is going to have is finding a quarterback, especially in a division where Buffalo has Josh Allen, where the New England Patriots have Drake Maye and where the New York Jets have like nine No. 1 draft picks over the next few years.”

Tagovailoa appeared to take a leap forward in his first two years under Mike McDaniel in Miami, including a lead-leading 4,624 passing yards to go with 29 touchdowns in 2023. However, he struggled from there as injuries mounted, and he threw for 2,660 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2025 in 14 games before being benched.

Now, the new brass has to figure out what to do next. Sullivan told reporters Thursday was “not the day” to discuss the quarterback situation, but acknowledged there will be a process to figure out the next steps.

“Yes, we need to get the QB situation in place,” Sullivan said. “But we’re not gonna do it in an irresponsible manner where we sacrifice building the infrastructure of this football team.”