The Miami Dolphins are “in the ballpark” of an extension for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
“Miami is committed to doing something,” Fowler said Friday on ESPN’s SportsCenter. “Haven’t made a lot of progress as of yet, but I’m told they’ve been in talks, they’re at least in the ballpark, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this starts to heat up as early as next week because the Dolphins know this is the market and this is the leading passer from last year, played all 17 games, proved he could be durable, so he’s earned the coin, just depends on when Miami is going to put something on it.”
Tagovailoa led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards last season.
He is currently slated to play the 2024 season on a $23.2 million club option before his rookie contract expires, but it sounds like the Dolphins have no interest in letting him hit free agency in 2025.
Tagovailoa is coming out of an 11-win campaign during which he recorded career-best totals with 29 passing touchdowns and a completion rate of 69.3 percent.
He also played 18 games including a Wild Card loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, helping ease some concerns about his durability after injuries caused him to miss 11 games over his first three seasons.
The news that the Dolphins could be nearing an extension decision comes days after NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to a five-year extension with quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Lawrence’s deal offers $275 million with $142 million fully guaranteed, per Rapoport. That average annual value of $55 million matches the record-setting contract inked by the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow last September.
Some NFL front offices have predicted that Tagovailoa’s extension will come in just under the total offered to Lawrence and Burrow, according to ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques.
Those sources predict that Tagovailoa will sign a contract similar to the five-year deal, worth $262.5 million with $193.7 million guaranteed, that Justin Herbert agreed to with the Los Angeles Chargers last year, per Louis-Jacques.
Tagovailoa told reporters earlier this month, that he had been watching other quarterbacks set the market, and said although he wasn’t concerned about his own deal, he was “antsy” about negotiations.
“Just want to get something done,” he said, per NFL.com’s Eric Edholm.
An extension isn’t the only route the Dolphins could take to keep their franchise quarterback in Miami. The team could allow him to play out the final year of his rookie deal before franchise tagging him for the 2025 campaign.
Luckily for Tagovailoa, who would likely prefer long-term certainty, Fowler’s report indicates that the Dolphins are leaning toward an extension rather than the franchise-tag path taken by other quarterbacks like Kirk Cousins in Washington and Dak Prescott in Dallas.