NFL Rumors: Dolphins Set For Major Shakeup This Offseason

December 23, 2025

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa looks on during 2025 game.

It might finally be over for Tua Tagovailoa in Miami. 

After the Miami Dolphins were eliminated and then benched him in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers, the conversation has shifted from fixing the offense to figuring out what the roster looks like in 2026, and insiders are already pointing to a breakup.

Tua Tagovailoa release talk grows around Miami Dolphins

ESPN’s Adam Schefter called a release the most likely outcome, and the timing matters because Miami is expected to hire a new general manager who will have the final say. The contract is the problem. 

In another surprising twist, the Dolphins are expected to bring back Mike McDaniel next season.

Cutting Tagovailoa before June 1 would bring a massive dead-money hit, while a post June 1 release would reduce the 2026 damage but push pain into 2027. Either way, it is the kind of cap decision that forces a front office to pick a direction fast. 

Trade chatter is complicated for Tua Tagovailoa

A trade makes more sense on paper, but the market is not great. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has suggested a deal could be the more likely path if Miami is willing to eat money or attach something extra to make it work, and that is where the league tends to land when a contract is this heavy. 

There is also the wildcard option of keeping Tagovailoa as a highly paid backup, but that is tough to sell in a building that could be changing upstairs, and possibly behind the bench depending on how ownership views Mike McDaniel’s season.

Miami’s final games become a scouting window now, not a playoff chase. If Quinn Ewers flashes anything at all, it gives the Dolphins more leverage to move on, and it makes the Tagovailoa decision feel even less emotional and more inevitable.

Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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