Since the Buffalo Bills have taken over the AFC East back in 2020, there has only been one team that has consistently been right behind them in the standings and that is the Miami Dolphins. Down in the south beach, the Dolphins have done whatever they can to try and knock off the Bills but they have failed every single season.
We’ve seen these two teams battle it out in a Week 18 matchup with the division championship on the line in Miami, but the Bills came out on top 21-14 and took the division away from Miami who had a three game lead at one point. That’s the only time that they have given the Bills a true scare.
While Miami has finished in second place a majority of the time in the AFC East, they have fell short of being a legit contender in the NFL. Part of the reason why that is, is because of Tua Tagovailoa and his injury history.
There’s no denying that Tua can be a great quarterback, but his lengthy injury history that started back in college at Alabama has played a role into who he is as a player. The 2023 season was the only season that Tua played in all 17 regular season games. Outside of that, he’s played in no more than 13 games.
Even though the Dolphins extended Tua’s contract, it is shaped in a way where Miami can get out of it if they wanted to and that could put Tua’s future with the Dolphins in jeopardy sooner than later, and maybe 2025 could be the season where his future in Miami starts to go downhill.
Tua Tagovailoa could very well be on the hot seat in Miami in 2025
One of the benefits that the Bills have is having an dominant quarterback like Josh Allen who hasn’t missed a single game since his rookie season and can take over a game. Even though Tua can lead a pass-first offense well, he’s not the athlete that Allen is. That’s what separates them two the most. You won’t hear anything about Allen possibly getting benched or out of Buffalo for a long time. The same thing can’t be said about Tua.
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report listed five veteran quarterbacks heading into the 2025 season who could be benched if things go south and Tua is on the list along with Sam Darnold, Dak Prescott, Aaron Rodgers (assuming he signs with the Steelers), and Russell Wilson. Here’s a bit of what Kay said about Tua:
"The Alabama product has to get back to playing at a high level and stay on the field for a vast majority of the campaign if Miami wants to contend, although there are options if he can't accomplish that.Alex Kay, Bleacher Report
While Tagovailoa is under contract through the 2028 season, there are ways for the Dolphins to get out from under the deal. Trading him this season would only result in an $8.4 million dead-cap hit while freeing up nearly $31 million in cap room."
Tua has great character and has shown that he can play in the league, but he just can’t stand healthy. The fact that Miami has his contract set up in a way where they could get out of it should show what the team truly thinks about him. He just simply can’t stay healthy and while Miami would rather have him than go through a revolving door of quarterbacks, they are going to be risking it every season that he is on the table.
It’s no shock that Miami went out and signed backup Zach Wilson and drafted former Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers. The team needs a solid backup plan because as of right now, it’s hard to think that Tua will stay healthy for all 17 games which could put him on the hot seat in 2025 and possibly end his tenure in Miami sooner than he expects.