Domonique Foxworth labels 2025 a 'make or break season' for Tua Tagovailoa

The Miami Dolphins have seen flashes of excellence during the Tua Tagovailoa era. At the same time, injuries and failing to win as much as the team had hoped have made the 2025 season a very important one for quarterback and team alike.

With the NFL season around the corner, analyst Domonique Foxworth made an appearance on Get Up. There, he explained that 2025 has become a make-or-break season for Tagovailoa and the Dolphins.

“I think it’s honestly a make-or-break season for a lot of people down in Miami right now,” Domonique Foxworth said. “Particularly the head coach and the quarterback. So, if things go wrong, especially considering Tua’s injury history, and they’re looking for a new head coach and they’re looking for a new regime, I don’t imagine that Tua’s gonna get another chance.”

At times, Tagovailoa has been excellent in the NFL. A Pro Bowl selection in 2023, Tagovailoa is coming off a year where he completed 72.9 percent of his passes for 2,867 yards and 19 touchdowns. However, he’s also suffered from several major injuries, including numerous concussions, which have given him legitimate health concerns.

Foxworth highlighted those health concerns in particular. If he doesn’t prove himself in 2025, then those health concerns will make it that much harder to get a long-term deal with another team. After all, nobody wants an injury-prone franchise quarterback.

“To the point that we were making earlier about it being really make-or-break if you’re not gonna get other chances elsewhere,” Foxworth said. “Again, the injury concerns for Tua are serious. I can’t imagine that there are any other teams outside of Miami that would be interested in him and invested in him as a long-term solution. So, I think if he puts up big numbers and has a great season, that changes the way we talk about him and it keeps the people believing in him. It keeps them in their jobs there and it keeps them in Miami.”

Also on the panel was Bill Barnwell. He pushed back a little on the idea that Tua Tagovailoa won’t get another opportunity outside of Miami. However, he did make it clear that this is the time for the Dolphins to figure out if they’re going to compete or not in the AFC with this current roster.

“Tua is second in yards per attempt and first in completion percentage in the NFL over the last three years. The scheme is part of that. Okay. I’m willing to take that, but they have not been a great team when Tua Tagovailoa has been injured or on the bench. So, I do think he’d have a market elsewhere. I do think this Dolphins team has to think about what their broader roster construction is… I think they have to figure out are we really going to be able to compete with Tua Tagovailoa. I think he’d have opportunities elsewhere,” Barnwell said. “But I wonder if Miami is going to move off of him if he doesn’t play well this year.”

Miami is coming off an 8-9 season. That was good for second place in the AFC East, but wasn’t good enough to make the playoffs. Since Tagovailoa was drafted in 2020, the Dolphins have made the postseason twice, both times under current head coach Mike McDaniel, but they’ve yet to win a playoff game.