Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa open to playing elsewhere in 2026 - ESPN

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is open to a «fresh start,» he told reporters Monday, after he was benched for the team's final three games of the season.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel benched Tagovailoa for rookie Quinn Ewers after the team's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15, saying the seventh-round pick gave Miami the best chance to win.

Tagovailoa spent the remaining three games as the team's inactive emergency third quarterback. Speaking after McDaniel's decision on Dec. 17, Tagovailoa said that he was «disappointed» but that the decision was out of his control. He also declined to comment on whether he had played his final game for the Dolphins.

His tone shifted during the team's locker room cleanout Monday, when asked whether he'd like a fresh start after the events of this season.

«That would be dope,» he said. «I would be good with it.»

Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212.1 million extension in July 2024, the richest contract in franchise history. But after missing a career-high six games in 2024 to hip and head injuries, he turned in a down season in 2025 before losing his job to Ewers.

He threw for 2,660 yards and 20 touchdowns against a career-high 15 interceptions and recorded fewer than 200 passing yards eight times this season, after having done so only six times in his three previous seasons with McDaniel combined.

Moving on from Tagovailoa will be expensive for Miami. He represents a $56.4 million cap hit in 2026, and cutting him before June 1 would result in a $99.2 million dead cap hit next season. Releasing him after June 1 would spread that dead cap hit across two seasons, with $67.2 million hitting in 2026.

The Dolphins could also look to trade the NFL's 2023