INDIANAPOLIS — Barring an unforeseen reversal, expect the Miami Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa to finalize a nine-figure contract extension in the coming months, if not weeks.
Mike McDaniel basically confirmed as much during his news conference at the NFL Scouting Combine here Tuesday.
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Asked if he’s hopeful that an extension gets done this offseason, McDaniel replied:
“Yeah, absolutely. I think one of the cool things in this organization is how communicative and how well I work with Chris Grier, as well as how I can separate what my job is and what his job is and how we move forward. I’m very encouraged.
“Both Tua’s representation and our organization is hard at work. Those timelines are impossible to predict. My main concern this offseason has been communicating what Tua needs from his head coach and his offensive coaching staff, which is, ‘What things can we identify to continue the progression of your game the same way that we have since Day 1?’
“My belief has always been strong from Day 1 in Tua. It’s stronger than it was the first day I met him. And that’s because of that relationship where I’m focused, which is continuing to provide the coaching so he can continue to evolve his game as he has since the second that I started talking to him.”
Currently, Tagovailoa is scheduled to make $23.2 million on the fifth-year option.
Any extension would at least double that AAV, and the news last week that the salary cap is increasing by $30 million improves the likelihood that Tagovailoa’s deal will be the biggest in NFL history.
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Asked later to name the most important part of Tagovailoa’s improvement in Year 4, McDaniel replied:
“Reps. He had more reps than he’s ever had in his career because he played the full season. That was something that, football, there’s a lot of things that can happen. There’s also a lot of things you can control. I think one of the best examples of taking control over your career is what Tua was able to do through training and being able to experience all the different things.
“I mean shoot, experience a playoff game for the first time in his career. That was afforded to him because he was able to be leading the team week in, week out. These are things that weren’t necessarily assumed he was, he was capable of doing. But like most things that Tua has done in his career, he’s recognized that and proved doubters wrong.”
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