The Miami Dolphins flourished in 2023 under head coach Mike McDaniel and QB Tua Tagovailoa. Miami's offense boasts incredible speed and put up some absurd performances, including a 70-point game against the Broncos in Week 3. The future of Tua in Miami hangs in the balance as the star QB made a major decision amid contract negotiations.
According to CBS's Jonathan Jones, the Miami Dolphins have been without Tua Tagovailoa for a large majority of voluntary offseason workouts. The Dolphins reported back on April 15th.
His absence is a stark difference from his previous four years with the team, where he was present for most of the voluntary workouts.
Tagovailoa's absence is believed to be related to his contract status. He will play on the fifth-year option in 2024 worth $23.17 million. Tagovailoa is seeking a long-term extension with the Dolphins.
The price tag for Tua's contract likely went up recently. Last week, the Detroit Lions gave QB Jared Goff a four-year $212 million contract extension. That contract has an average annual value of $53 million.
The first numbers announced for NFL contract extensions rarely reflect the salary cap number and other information that NFL fans care about. That said, agents do use those figures in contract negotiations and place some importance on being connected to landing their players record-breaking contracts.
What does this mean for Tua and the Dolphins? Tagovailoa's representation will likely want to land in a similar ballpark to Goff with any potential contract extension. They may even look to surpass Goff's contract.
Tua has been a solid starting QB over the past couple of seasons, though he has suffered from several concussions. If Miami does not extend him, he could become the hot commodity during the 2025 NFL free agency period.
Breaking down the 2024 NFL schedule for the Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins face fierce competition in the AFC East. The rest of their regular season schedule does not give them much of a break either.
Miami drew the AFC South (Colts, Jaguars, Texans, Titans) and NFC West (Cardinals, 49ers, Rams, Seahawks) to play round robin. The Dolphins will play each team in those divisions one time during the regular season.
The NFL has rewarded the Dolphins with a healthy slate of nationally-televised games in 2024.
The Dolphins have five primetime games on their schedule. They start early in the season with a Week 2 matchup against the Bills on Thursday Night Football. Miami also plays the Titans on Monday Night Football in Week 4 and the Rams on Monday Night in Week 10. The Dolphins will also appear twice on Sunday Night Football, facing off against the Packers in Week 13 and against the Browns in Week 17.
Miami's bye week falls on Week 6 in 2024. NFL teams tend not to like early bye weeks because they provide a break too soon in the season, so this isn't great news for the Dolphins.
Week 18 matchups aren't set in stone this season. This gives the NFL the option to flex playoff-relevant games into primetime windows for more viewership. The Dolphins play the Jets in Week 18, so it is possible they are flexed into primetime if that game has implications for playoff seeding or the AFC East title.
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