Dolphins GM Comments on Tua Tagovailoa’s Future With Franchise After Wild-Card Exit
He was bluntly asked if he wants to sign the quarterback to a long-term extension this offseason.
After a disappointing end to their season, Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier spoke to reporters Monday where he was bluntly asked if he wants to sign quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a long-term deal. The signal-caller will be entering the final season of his five-year rookie deal.
“We’ve had conversations,” Grier told reporters Monday. “Like we said, we wouldn’t talk throughout the season in terms of contract stuff, but we’ve stayed in touch with his agent and had good conversations throughout the year. [We] never talk about money or anything, just good conversations about where he is and the relationship with [head coach] Mike [McDaniel] and the team here and everything he’s done.
“So the goal is to have him here long-term playing at a high level,” he continued. “That’s always the goal and we’ll continue to communicate with him through the offseason here. Like we’ve always said in the past, you guys know me, we don’t really talk in the media through all that stuff, so we’ll just keep all those talks internal and with his reps.”
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Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option is set to pay him $23.171 million in 2024. Whether the team opts to sign Tagovailoa to a massive extension or let him play out the year with the franchise tag as a backup option will reveal how the franchise truly feels about the 25-year-old.
The signal-caller led the NFL in passing yards this past season (4,624) and threw 29 touchdowns to 14 interceptions as well. Things came crashing down for the vaunted Miami offense in the wild-card round, though, on Saturday in a 26–7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Tagovailoa completed 20 of his 39 passes and threw both one touchdown and one interception.