Tua Tagovailoa’s presence at Dolphins OTAs puts baseless rumors of QB holding out over contract extension to rest

Tagovailoa is set to play the final year of his rookie contract with the Dolphins.

Tua Tagovailoa’s presence at Dolphins OTAs puts baseless rumors of QB holding out over contract extension to rest

Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa (via Imago)

There has been a lot of noise with respect to Tua Tagovailoa‘s contract negotiations as the quarterback heads into the final year of his five-year rookie contract. The expectations by this point were for the Miami Dolphins to have offered him a sizeable extension, but considering the team’s reluctance to pay him the number he is looking for, a lot of uncertainty prevails in the team.

The 26-year-old quarterback is not happy with the initial offer made by the Miami Dolphins. As reported by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN on SportsCenter, the team had reached out to him with a lucrative offer, but Tua Tagovailoa wasted no time in turning it down. The quarterback is looking for a big payday and he has his eyes fixed on the $50-$55 million a year bracket, as it is the new threshold across the league for elite QBs.

YouTube video

He is hoping to get a contract similar to Jared Goff, who struck gold recently with the Detroit Lions. The Dolphins commenced organized team activities a while back and the team’s quarterback was a notable absence. This led to speculation that he is clearly holding out to compel the team to take his negotiations seriously and accelerate the process.

FS Video
He has missed some OTA time, I've confirmed, and really it could depend on how negotiations go with his contract as to whether he starts to show up or is there full-time.
Jeremy Fowler reported

Fans react to Tua Tagovailoa reporting to training camp despite having ongoing negotiations with the Dolphins

But Tagovailoa put all the rumors and speculation to rest as he showed up at the team’s OTAs today. He is not allowing the contract negotiation talks to get in the way of playing football and showing up to prepare for the next season.

Tua Tagovailoa
Tua Tagovailoa (via IMAGO)

Fans online were relieved to see that Tagovailoa was not holding out, many of them excited to see glimpses of the Dolphins’ new look offense. Here are some of the reactions via X:

They’re not the Bills.

Tua Tagovailoa has the best offense at his disposal this season. With the addition of Odell Beckham Jr. the Dolphins are a defensive coordinator’s nightmare. A lot is riding on this season and the hopes for Tagovailoa to prove that he can lead Miami to a Super Bowl have never been higher.

For now, the quarterback has exercised his fifth-year option, which pays him $23.5 million for this season. It remains to be seen if he will get an extension before the season’s commencement.

In case you missed it: