A “high-ranking team executive” told CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones he had considered trading for Tua Tagovailoa “if the Dolphins would send a first-round pick to take on the freight of his contract.”

05 March 2026

Jones was quick to point out that the NFL generally frowns upon teams paying draft picks to offload bloated contracts, and it’s an incredibly rare occurrence. We doubt every team feels this negatively about Tagovailoa and his contract, but it does make it clear that there won’t be much, if any, of a market for his services. Miami is likely stuck either cutting him or keeping him on the roster for another year. Even with a post-June 1st designation, the Dolphins lose $11.1 million in cap space by releasing Tua. They are currently over the cap, making his release particularly challenging.