Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is embroiled in a contract standoff with the team, but has not stopped him from attending mandatory minicamp.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel says that Tagovailoa is present “in the flesh” for the club's mandatory workouts, via Ian Rapoport of NFL media.
Tagovailoa may not do much at the camp as he continues to discuss a contract extension with Miami, Rapoport notes.
The 26-year-old is preparing to enter the final year of his deal and will end up hitting free agency next offseason if he and the Dolphins are unable to come to some sort of agreement before the 2024 NFL campaign begins.
Tagovailoa has become quite the polarizing figure, as some have questioned whether or not he is actually worth a massive deal.
What is Tua Tagovailoa worth to the Dolphins?
Some feel that Tagovailoa is not a legitimate franchise quarterback. That he is merely a product of a couple of great wide receivers in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and that he benefits greatly from McDaniel's system in Miami.
As a result, there is much deliberation among fans and the media in terms of how much Tagovailoa is actually worth.
Right now, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is the highest-paid player in the league, earning $55 million annually. While the quarterback market tends to reset every year, Tagovailoa will almost certainly not surpass Burrow.
But should he make as much as Los Angeles Chargers signal-caller Justin Herbert, who signed an extension that pays him $52.5 million per year?
Most would probably agree that Herbert is a more gifted passer than Tagovailoa, but their resumes don't look a whole lot different at this point. Both quarterbacks entered the NFL in 2020, and both are 0-1 in the playoffs.
Tagovailoa does have a couple of distinctions in his background, however. He led the NFL with a 105.5 passer rating in 2022, and this past year, he paced the league with 4,624 passing yards. He also guided the Dolphins to 11 wins in 2023.
Should those feats be enough for Tagovailoa to land a lucrative long-term deal with the club?
The question Miami's front office needs to ask itself is, if not Tagovailoa, then who? The Dolphins have finally begun to show signs of life after spending two decades in the doldrums. This is a franchise that has not won a playoff game since January 2001, representing the longest active drought in the NFL.
Now that Tagovailoa appears to be steering Miami in the right direction, would it really be wise for the Dolphins to risk allowing him to walk in free agency next March? He may not be Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, but he is, at the very least, an above average quarterback who we already know can play.
Of course, Tagovailoa does carry a checkered health history, particularly in terms of concussions. But the University of Alabama product played in every game this past season.
Let's say the Dolphins cut ties with Tagovailoa next offseason. Are they immediately going to find a better solution? More than likely, they won't.
This isn't to say that Miami needs to give Tagovailoa Burrow money, but extending him now would probably be a good idea.
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