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Tua Tagovailoa, former Miami Dolphins quarterback.
That will take some getting used to as Miami general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan announced March 9 the team will release the quarterback at the start of the new league year.
"I recently informed Tua and his representation that we are going to move in a new direction at the quarterback position and will be releasing him after the start of the new league year," Sullivan said in a statement released by the team. "As I shared with Tua, I have great respect for the person and player he is. On behalf of the Miami Dolphins, I expressed our gratitude for his many contributions, both on the field and in the community, during his six seasons in Miami."
More: Free agency preview: Secondary uncertainty leaves Lions in the lurch
The Dolphins will take on a record $99.2 million in dead money by releasing Tagovailoa. Miami will split Tagovailoa's dead-cap hit over two seasons by designating him a post-June 1 release, per reports.
An era that began with the "Tank for Tua" campaign, it comes to a close with the team having determined there is nothing left in that tank.
It was a decision that appeared to be inevitable once the Dolphins elected to fire head coach Mike McDaniel on Jan. 8, a move that came just months after the team mutually parted ways with GM Chris Grier on Oct. 31. The Dolphins responded by hiring the Green Bay Packers' defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley, as head coach and also Sullivan, the team's vice president of player personnel, to be the new GM.
While the new regime certainly didn't boost Tagovailoa's chances of sticking around in South Beach, his with the Dolphins has been in doubt since being benched ahead of Week 16. Tagovailoa appeared to welcome a change of scenery after the season concluded.
"That would be dope," Tagovailoa said via Palm Beach Post's Joe Schad, when asked if he was hoping for a fresh start this offseason. "I would be good with it."
The quarterback struggled to remain on the field since being drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, missing at least one game in 5 of 6 seasons. Concussions have been the main storyline for the former Alabama star.
Tagovailoa has suffered four documented concussions during his career. A trio of them have come since entering the NFL.
Despite the injury concerns, Miami still inked him to a four-year, $212.4 million deal ahead of the 2024 season, which carried an average annual value (AAV) of $53.1 million and came with over $167.1 million guaranteed, according to Spotrac.
The penalty for moving on from Tagovailoa this quickly is steep, though the Dolphins will be able to split his record $99.2 million dead-cap hit over two seasons.
Miami will have options for how to do that, according to OverTheCap.com. They can either take on a $67.4 million in dead cap for 2026 – costing them $11 million in cap space for the upcoming season – while still having $31.8 million in dead money tied to Tagovailoa in 2027 or take on $55.4 million in 2026 while having $43.8 million leftover in 2027.
It simply depends what the Dolphins plan on doing with Tagovailoa's $15 million option bonus, which can be exercised at any point during the first 10 days of the new league year.
Tagovailoa will finish his Dolphins' career with a 44-32 record in 76 games as a starter. He completed 68% of passes, tossed 120 touchdowns and 59 interceptions.
Now the southpaw will head to free agency in the hopes that a fresh start can get his career back on track.
Kelce wants to keep playing
Star tight end Travis Kelce wants to continue his NFL career after 13 years with the Kansas City Chiefs and could be open to playing for another team, The Athletic reported Sunday.
Kelce, who will be 37 in October, has been selected to 11 Pro Bowls and is a four-time first-team All-Pro with Kansas City, which drafted him in the third round in 2013.
He has been weighing whether to return for this 14th season in the league and has debated retirement for the past two offseasons. One new layer this offseason is Kelce is set to become an unrestricted free agent after finishing his two-year, $34.25 million extension this past season.
The Athletic reported that Kelce's representatives are expected to talk with multiple teams.
Kansas City, while financially strapped by salary-cap issues, has been diplomatic in a wait-and-see approach with Kelce regarding retirement or another season.
"We've kind of prepared for either scenario," Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said at the NFL Scouting Combine on Feb. 24. "We're trying to position ourselves that either way, we have a plan moving forward."
Raiders trade for CB Johnson
The Las Vegas Raiders are acquiring veteran cornerback Taron Johnson and a seventh-round pick from the Buffalo Bills for a sixth-round pick in this year's draft, according to multiple reports on Sunday night.
The Bills announced on Friday that Johnson, 29, was going to be released, reportedly as an apparent salary-cap casualty for a savings of $1.9 million. Instead, Buffalo is trading Johnson and a late draft pick – it has two in the seventh (from the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets) – for a sixth-rounder. The Raiders have two that round, including one from the Jets.
Johnson played in 13 regular-season games for the Bills last season, making eight starts at nickel cornerback and totaling 57 tackles and four passes defended. He also started one of two playoff games and made eight tackles.
He signed a three-year, $30.75 million extension in March 2024 with $17.82 million in guaranteed money.
Detroit News wires contributed.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: NFL roundup: Dolphins will release Tua Tagovailoa, take $99M dead-money cap hit
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