The Dolphins have said that they plan to have Tua Tagovailoa as their starting quarterback in 2023, but they’re not ready to make any decisions about 2024 at this point.
May 1 is the deadline for the Dolphins to exercise their option on Tagovailoa’s contract for his fifth NFL season and head coach Mike McDaniel was asked about the team’s plans during a Scouting Combine press conference. McDaniel said that he and General Manager Chris Grier plan to take all the time they can before making a call about a fully guaranteed salary of just over $23 million.
“We’re probably best served to utilize the time,” McDaniel said, via Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com. “That’s kind of the way we’re approaching it, but that doesn’t mean that we’re spending any long period of time not discussing it. This is something that Chris and I have been working through.”
The concussions that interrupted and ultimately ended Tagovailoa’s season are likely to factor into the decision as McDaniel said the team will “factor in every variable.” Grier said last month that the team does not believe he is more prone to the head injuries than other players and picking up the option would be another sign of that belief.
