What are the six highlights of Tua Tagovailoa’s Dolphins career?
The 2020 pick of Tua Tagovailoa forever changed the course of Miami Dolphins history.
Once heralded as the quarterback to take the Dolphins out of postseason purgatory, the former No. 5 overall pick was released Monday. His $99.2 million dead money cap hit immediately becomes the largest in NFL history. Tagovailoa would later sign with the Atlanta Falcons.
As much as fans remain fixated on the version of Tagovailoa who turned in many middling performances over the last two seasons, there were good times. Presented below is a mix of both, a true testament to Tagovailoa’s six-year tenure in South Florida.
Dolphins make Tagovailoa No. 5 pick
No good story is without controversy.
And said controversy began the very moment that the Dolphins picked Tagovailoa. The reasoning: despite a storied collegiate career, a severe hip injury derailed the quarterback’s final season at Alabama.
In the interim, other quarterbacks, specifically Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert and Jordan Love, had all emerged as viable options. Of course hindsight is 20-20, but there should be no debate now that Tagovailoa likely shouldn’t have gone that high — or at the very least over Love and Herbert.
Concussions
Availability will always be a topic during the Tagovailoa discussion.
During his six-year stint with the Dolphins, the former Alabama standout sustained three concussions, two of which occurred in the 2022 season. He missed nine games as a result.
The final concussion in the aqua and orange occurred two games into the 2024 season when he dove headfirst into the abdomen of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Upon his return, Tagovailoa gave a rather indignant response to those who questioned his NFL future.
2022 Ravens
This was arguably the best game of Tagovailoa’s career.
Down 35-14 at the start of the fourth quarter, the then-franchise quarterback led the Dolphins to an impressive 42-38 victory over the Ravens as Tagovailoa tossed four touchdowns over the final 12 minutes of game time.
At the time, the moment couldn’t be more significant. The Dolphins had a new coach. A new star receiver in Tyreek Hill. And the offense looked incredible as Tagovailoa had out dueled the then-one time MVP Lamar Jackson.
“We were executing on all cylinders,” said Tagovailoa who completed 72% of his passes for 469 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. His passing yards and touchdowns notched career highs. “And then there were times when we didn’t execute, and no one panicked. Everyone just came back into the huddle, and we regrouped, and we went back out there and tried to execute whatever play we were given.”
O, the good ole days.
2023 Chargers
The 2023 season seems so long ago.
It certainly was one for the books. Not only did the Dolphins have the No. 1 offense in football, Tagoailoa led the league in passing yards with 4,624 en route to his first Pro Bowl.
And in no game did he look the part more than Week 1 vs. the Los Angeles Chargers. Tagovailoa finished with 466 passing yards to go along with three touchdowns and a pick.
Again, the context here remains important. The Herbert-Tagovailoa discourse had reached an all-time high yet for at least one day, Phins fans had definitive proof that their front office has made the right decision.
Contract
The words “show me the money” will forever be a stain in Dolphins’ memories.
Said to the training camp crowd the day that he signed his massive four-year, $212.4 million extension, Tagovailoa’s words sting even more upon the realization that he played only 25 games since then. Even worse: he committed 25 turnovers over that same span.
At the time, the contract put Tagovailoa among one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in terms of average annual value.
2025 Steelers
The final start of Tagovailoa’s career came on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
His final stat line wasn’t horrible — he only threw six incompletions, completing a whopping 79% of his passes for 253 yards, two touchdowns and an interception — yet that one pick stands out.
Why?
Because it became evidently clear that Tagovailoa’s arm had seemingly died as he tossed a duck that unfortunately landed into the outstretch arms of Steelers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.
What happened next has been well-documented. Then-coach Mike McDaniel would bench Tagovailoa in favor of his rookie counterpart, Quinn Ewers, who would start the final three games of the season. After a regime change early in the offseason, the Dolphins would unsuccessfully attempt to trade Tagovailoa before finally deciding to cut him on Monday.
