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Tua Tagovailoa is coming off one of his worst seasons as a pro, throwing for 2,660 yards with 20 touchdown passes and a career-high 15 interceptions for an 88.5 passer rating. The Dolphins quarterback started 14 games last year before being benched for the final three in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers.
Tagovailoa has struggled to stay healthy over his six NFL seasons, missing significant time due to concussion issues in addition to rib fractures, finger fractures and a back injury. However, the Alabama product has played winning football, posting a 44-32 record as a starter, reaching the playoffs once during his time in Miami and making the Pro Bowl in 2023 after leading the NFL in passing yards that season.
Selected No. 5 overall in the 2020 draft, Tagovailoa is just 28 years old. Like Super Bowl-winning QB Sam Darnold — who bounced from the Jets to the Panthers to the 49ers to the Vikings to the Seahawks — he could restart his career in another spot.
The Dolphins would like to trade Tagovailoa but will likely have to cut him, designating him as a post-June 1 release to help pay down some of the $99.2 million in dead money on the books. Tagovailoa is due $54 million in guaranteed salary for the 2026 season, and $3 million of his 2027 salary becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the new league year next week.
Here are three teams that would make sense for Tagovailoa to revive his career.
The Cardinals are starting over — once again — by releasing quarterback Kyler Murray and hiring new head coach Mike LaFleur. The former Rams offensive coordinator brings with him a quarterback-friendly system that relies on running the football and the play-action game to take pressure off the QB to carry the offense.
With Kyler Murray on the way out, Arizona is looking for a new starting quarterback. Last season, journeyman Jacoby Brissett started 12 games for the Cardinals. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
Arizona also is a warm-weather team that plays indoors, which would benefit a quarterback like Tagovailoa. He doesn’t possess a strong arm, but he is accurate, throws with anticipation and excels as a play-action passer. He would give LaFleur a low-cost option who still has tread on the tires and could excel in his offensive system, serving as a bridge quarterback until the Cardinals find a long-term developmental prospect.
[RELATED: 3 Best Team Fits for QB Kyler Murray in NFL Free Agency]
New head coach Kevin Stefanski drafted a left-handed quarterback in Dillon Gabriel whereas teaching the Cleveland Browns. Stefanski now takes over a workforce with a left-handed quarterback because the workforce’s projected starter in Michael Penix Jr.
So, why not usher in a left-handed quarterback in Tagovailoa to begin till Penix returns from the partially torn ACL he suffered final November? Tagovailoa can be an excellent slot in Stefanski’s system, a West Coast-based scheme that leans on operating the soccer and play-action passing.
The Falcons play in a dome, which ought to serve Tagovailoa properly. Plus, Atlanta has a stable offensive line and top-of-the-line teams of offensive weapons within the league, led by operating again Bijan Robinson, tight finish Kyle Pitts and receiver Drake London.
Drake London (5) and Bijan Robinson (7) might take the load off of Tua Tagovailoa to hold the Atlanta offense. (Picture by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Photographs)
Rams coach Sean McVay helped to revive the profession of quarterback Baker Mayfield, who has had his finest seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a 2022 stint in Los Angeles. And we’ve additionally seen transformations within the careers of QBs Darnold, Geno Smith and Daniel Jones after they left their unique groups.
May Tagovailoa expertise an identical turnaround serving because the backup to Matthew Stafford for a season in L.A.?
Would possibly Tagovailoa’s profession revival be guided by Rams coach and offensive guru Sean McVay? (Picture by Ronald Martinez/Getty Photographs)
There’s a good likelihood that Rams backup Jimmy Garoppolo may have a chance to change into a starter for one more workforce in free company. If that occurs, Tagovailoa might signal with the Rams and study for a 12 months below McVay because the backup to Stafford. And if the 38-year-old NFL MVP decides to retire after the 2026 season, Tagovailoa can be in place to take over because the starter in 2027.
Even when Stafford sticks round, working with the offensive guru McVay for a 12 months might change the trajectory of Tagovailoa’s profession. He might discover a beginning job elsewhere in 2027 and rewrite the narrative of who he’s as participant within the league.
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