Is Tua Tagovailoa playing hardball with the Miami Dolphins?
Contract extension negotiations have been ongoing between the team and its franchise quarterback, but we may be seeing the first hint of those talks going a little sour.
Tagovailoa has reportedly been “mostly absent” from the Dolphins’ voluntary offseason workouts, according to a CBS Sports report Friday morning.
A source with the team neither confirmed nor denied the report.
The early phases of offseason workouts are closed to the media, but the Dolphins have released social media photos and video showing Tagovailoa reporting on the first day of offseason workouts April 15, among other sessions where he’s seen throwing to receivers.
That, apparently, is an anomaly from his presence for the rest of workouts, with the report saying Tagovailoa “has been absent for the large majority” of them. It’s a contrast from his offseason workout participation level in previous years.
Tagovailoa is known to have been doing individual workouts both with trainers locally, including throwing with wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and with personal quarterback coach John Beck, a former Dolphin, in California.
Tagovailoa enters the fifth and final year of his rookie contract in 2024, but he is in negotiations to strike an extension with the organization.
Dolphins general manager Chris Grier has expressed optimism throughout the offseason of reaching a deal with the quarterback Miami drafted with the No. 5 pick in 2020.
The news comes in the week of Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff signing an extension for an average annual value of $53 million per year. He became the fifth NFL quarterback to average more than $50 million a season with his deal, joining the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow, Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts and Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert.
With the league’s salary cap continuing to rise, an extension for Tagovailoa is expected to be in that range.
The portion of the Dolphins’ offseason workout program that transitions into organized team activities begins Monday. Coach Mike McDaniel said in late March he expects Tagovailoa to be present for those OTAs, which are also voluntary sessions.
But Tagovailoa cutting back on his presence for the workouts that precede those drills put his status into question for OTAs.
Miami has its mandatory minicamp running from June 4-6. There are fines associated with missing those sessions.
