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Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley spoke on the team's decision to release Tua Tagovailoa

For the first time since the 2020 season, Tua Tagovailoa will not be the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 of the NFL season. 

Despite the move resulting in $99 million in dead money, the Miami Dolphins released Tua Tagovailoa six seasons after selecting him with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Tagovailoa, who had been selected to the Pro Bowl in the 2023 season after leading the NFL in passing yards, saw his play decline over his final two seasons with the team. He missed time with a concussion and hip injury in 2024 before his play declined in 2025 to the degree that he was benched in favor of seventh-round rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, who according to former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel gave the team a better chance to win.

Recently, new Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley spoke about the difficult decision to move on from Tagovailoa.

Miami Dolphins Head Coach Speaks on Decision to Release Tua Tagovailoa

First-year Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley appeared on Richard Sherman’s podcast, a player Hafley previously coached in San Francisco, where he discussed Miami’s decision to release both Tyreek Hill and Tua Tagovailoa. Hafley said, “Obviously, Jon-Eric (Sullivan) and I had a lot of conversations about that, and, you know, it’s truly the situation that we walked into. I think there was over 33 free agents on the roster when we got here.

The cap situation was really difficult, so we had to get in a healthier spot as far as the cap goes, so we had to make some really hard decisions with some really good players, who I have a ton of respect for, and they are still going to have a lot of success in this league. We just weren’t in the situation where we were able to keep them as we build this thing going forward. Hard decisions are made, really good players had to leave the team, and now we find ourselves in a position where we just drafted 13 players… We’re going to be young.”

Tua Tagovailoa’s Replacement

After Tagovailoa was released by the Dolphins, he signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons, where he is expected to compete with Michael Penix Jr. for the starting job.

While Hafley mentioned the cap as one of the reasons Tagovailoa was released, it actually cost Miami money to move on from the quarterback. However, they did manage to get younger at the position as they signed 26-year-old Malik Willis to a three-year, $67 million contract.

Regarding Willis, Hafley told Sherman, “It’s so important – when you get in a free agent, you know what you’re getting. He was our scout team QB. I communicated with him more than I communicated with Jordan (Love). He’s competitive, tough, he can throw the ball. He’s accurate; really accurate down the field. And he’s really athletic, strong, can make plays with his feet. I mean when he breaks the pocket and he’s really accurate. And then on top of all that, I love the person.”