Tua Tagovailoa is coming off his least successful season in the NFL. He not only threw a career-high 15 interceptions, but Tagovailoa was also benched for the first time in his pro career.
While Tagovailoa’s benching didn’t come until after the trade deadline passed, now that the offseason has arrived, the Dolphins will have a chance to remove him from their roster. Of course, not even that will be easy.
Yet, for his part, Tagovailoa isn’t just open to playing for a new team, he’d be downright excited about the opportunity.
On Monday, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald asked Tagovailoa if he was seeking a fresh start in the NFL. His response was very telling.
“That would be dope,” Tagovailoa said. “I would be good with it.”
Asked if he is hoping for a fresh start, Tua said: "that would be dope. I would be good with it"… the 3 of us who asked him made sure he knew that we meant elsewhere. …very politely declined to speak beyond
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) January 5, 2026
Of course, simply joining a new team won’t be easy. First, the Dolphins will have to determine whether it makes sense to remove Tagovailoa from their roster.
If the Dolphins release Tagovailoa, he’ll still hold a $99.2 million cap hit across the next two seasons as his $56 million salary for 2026 is already guaranteed. Of course, the Dolphins could also trade the one-time Pro Bowl QB who will turn 28 in March. Yet, it won’t be easy to trade such an expensive player who’s also coming off the worst season of his seven-year NFL career.
But all it takes is one. One QB-needy team to believe they can get Tagovailoa back to his best form. While no one knows which team it may be, if Tagovailoa is up for grabs, he’ll surely be in the mix for another starting job in 2026.
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