The Miami Dolphins took the field without their star quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, against the New York Jets on Sunday. They needed a win to have any shot at the postseason, but the game ended in a 32-20 loss to the Jets, making the result of the Denver Broncos-Kansas City Chiefs fixture irrelevant.
Tagovailoa missed six games this season due to injuries after signing a four-year, $212.4 million deal during the 2024 offseason. He missed his second straight game in the season finale, with Tyler “Snoop” Huntley starting in his place.
Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel talked to the media after the team ended the season with an 8-9 record and missed out on the playoffs.
Chris Grier on Tua Tagovailoa’s Injury-Prone Season
Tagovailoa pushed very hard to play last week but was shut down by the medical team due to his hip injury. It appeared he was still not ready to go, as he was listed as doubtful after being limited in practice all week.
The Dolphins QB was frustrated after not getting an opportunity to be out there leading his men into battle.
“Yeah, it’s tough. It’s tough for any competitor to have to sit out when the season is on the line, and you know you can do more, but that just tells you how much trust and respect that we have for Snoop [Tyler Huntley],” Tagovailoa said on Friday ahead of Week 18.
“The defense has been balling as well, so looking forward to what our guys can do this Sunday, and we’ll see how the cards fall and how they play out,” he added.
He explained that playing might result in a bigger blow.
“When it comes to pain, I think I’m good with all of that, but it’s just the restriction of what the doctors are saying I can do,” Tagovailoa said.
The Dolphins GM shared his views on the Tagovailoa situation.
“For me, it was good to see his growth as a player when he was playing. I would say that the one thing that has come out of this, even this year, was the leadership part,” Grier said.
“All the players are talking about leadership and the step he’s taken and had a couple of free agents that come in said he was one of the best leaders they’ve ever been around for a quarterback and to see where he’s come from his early time here was impressive,” he went on.
🎥 Chris Grier on Tua Tagovailoa's season: "He needs to be available. He needs to know how to protect himself… not being available for taking chances and risks is unacceptable to us and he knows that." (@MiamiDolphins) #GoFins pic.twitter.com/c3gG5OEpmA
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) January 7, 2025
However, Grier didn’t hold back when it came to criticizing his availability.
“That being said, he needs to be available. He needs to know how to protect himself. Like you’re going to get hit at times, it’s always gonna happen, but he needs to control what he can control. He understands that not being available for taking chances and risk is unacceptable to us and he knows that,” Grier told the reporters.
Tagovailoa’s Massive Contract Extension
This past summer, Miami gave Tua franchise quarterback money, inking him to a four-year, $212.4 million contract, including $167,171,000 guaranteed and a $42 million signing bonus.
Coming in at $53.1 million per year, Tua is earning just above Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff’s $53 million annual average salary, making him the NFL’s fifth-highest-paid QB.
Tua earned this payday with a career year in 2023, leading the league in passing yards (4,624) and racking up a career-high 29 touchdown passes. As a result, the QB etched himself into the Dolphins’ record books with the biggest deal in the team’s history.
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Tagovailoa has had a strong season when healthy. He put together a grade of 86.2 (B), the eighth-best mark in the league, according to PFN’s QB+ metric. Tagovailoa ranks as the best quarterback in the league when facing pressure but has just a 0.25 EPA/DB from a clean pocket (14th).
His clutch numbers overall have been good, but we have seen some struggles in the past two weeks. His EPA/DB on the season ranks fourth at 0.21, and he converts a 10th-best 42.9% of third downs.