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Tua Tagovailoa benching: Adam Schefter compares Dolphins QB situation to Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones12/17/25brianjones_93

The Miami Dolphins have benched Tua Tagovailoa, and the situation looks similar to what Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers recently dealt with. While appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter explained why Tagovailoa’s situation is no different from Wilson and Rodgers’ situations last year.

“We’ve seen this play out before in Denver with Russell Wilson and New York with Aaron Rodgers,” Schefter said. “We talk about the teams with the largest cap hit that absorb the contracts of quarterbacks that they once thought were going to be their future.

“I think you have to turn to Denver and the Jets for instructive ways as to how they handled it. The Denver Broncos, this season, still have $32 million in dead cap money against their cap from moving on from Russell Wilson. It was initially over $50 million last year against their cap, it’s $32 million this year against their cap, and they still have the best record in the AFC currently.”

Schefter continued, The Jets moved on with a $49 million cap charge from Aaron Rodgers. Tua Tagovailoa is going to have a $99 million cap charge if they decide to move on from him. That would be the single largest cap charge in NFL history, and they certainly can spread it out.”

Looking at Tua Tagovailoa’s 2025 season

On Wednesday, the Dolphins announced that Quinn Ewers will be the starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The decision comes after Tua Tagovailoa has been up and down all season.

Through 14 games this year, Tagovailoa has completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns, and an NFL-leading 15 interceptions. In the Dolphins’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night, the former Alabama star threw just 65 passing yards and one interception through three quarters.

The Dolphins selected Tagovailoa in the first round (No. 5 overall) in the 2020 NFL Draft. In his career, the 27-year-old was named to the Pro Bowl once (2023) and led the NFL in completion percentage (72.9 in 2024).

Health has been an issue for Tagovailoa. He has missed multiple games in four of his first five seasons, including multiple concussions and a hip injury that happened last year. He is currently signed with the Dolphins through the 2028 season.