On Monday, the Miami Dolphins informed Tua Tagovailoa that he will be released with a post-June 1 designation. With the move, Miami will incur a record-breaking $99 million dead cap hit, split over two years, and with offset language in his contract, the former Alabama national champ will be free to sign with any team for the veteran minimum of $1.3 million.Â
While Tagovailoa has legitimate durability concerns and is coming off a year in which he was benched down the stretch, at the veteran minimum, he can be an enticing option with 76 starts in his NFL career. Tagovailoa is still just two years removed from leading the league in passing yards with 4,624 in Mike McDaniel’s offense.Â
Sam Darnold’s success in Minnesota and then Seattle has increased the belief that former first-round picks like Tagovailoa can find a second life in the league, but they are very different players.Â
Even through his early-career struggles, Darnold has always oozed arm talent. His deficiencies were in processing post-snap, handling pressure, and navigating muddy pockets. He also began his career in disastrous situations with sub-par play-callers in both New York and Carolina.Â
Tua, on the other hand, never had an elite NFL arm, and it’s gotten worse since his rotational power was zapped by his hip injury. He is an elite post-snap processor, which is why McDaniel, one of the NFL’s premier play-callers, built an RPO-heavy system for his QB to thrive in. Yet, even in that idealized situation with a tailor-made offense and Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to throw to, Tua and the Dolphins still bumped their head on the ceiling of his ability.Â
If there is anything left to squeeze out of Tua’s career, he’ll need the perfect landing spot to revitalize his career, and that’s probably one of these three options.Â
1. Atlanta Falcons
Many will point to the Minnesota Vikings and Kevin O’Connell, who helped revive Darnold’s career, as the top spot for Tagovailoa. However, Brian Flores, who never believed in Tua when he was the head coach in Miami, is still the defensive coordinator in Minnesota, so that doesn’t seem like the best fit.Â
Instead, I’ll put the Falcons at No. 1, and not just because it would give Atlanta a virtual monopoly on the league’s left-handed QBs. Though that would be part of the calculus.Â
Atlanta needs a veteran option to pair with Michael Penix Jr., who is coming off an injury and hasn’t shown himself to be a surefire franchise QB since the Falcons made him a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft. With Tua as that veteran, the offense won’t be forced to toggle between a right and left-handed QB, but other than that similarity, the two QBs don’t have much in common.Â
2. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals will be in the market for quarterback options in free agency and the draft, and with new head coach Mike LaFleur in place, it looks to be a QB-friendly landing spot. LaFleur is a branch off the Sean McVay coaching tree, and after releasing Kyler Murray, the Cardinals could use a cost-effective QB option like Tagovailoa.Â
For Tua, Arizona has a strong receiving corps with Trey McBride at tight end, and Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. at wide receiver. Then there’s the fact that Arizona plays in a dome and is in a division with two other warm-weather teams. The Hawaiian QB has never handled the elements well, so playing half his games inside would be ideal after leaving Miami.Â
3. Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are another dome team that needs a cheap veteran quarterback option. With Houston, Jacksonville, and Tennessee in the division, it could be an even better setup for Tua to mitigate his exposure to the elements.Â
The Colts placed the transition tag on Daniel Jones this offseason, so at least tentatively, he’s their QB of the future. Still, Jones is coming off an Achilles injury and may not be ready, or at least not 100 percent by Week 1, so Tagovailoa could be the ideal stopgap. Plus, Shane Steichen’s RPO-centric offense would be a good fit for Tua’s skillset.