The Miami Dolphins have a serious Tua Tagovailoa problem this offseason. However, the team’s special advisor and all-time great quarterback, Dan Marino, has a more measured take than most on the matter.
Most Dolphins fans understandably want nothing to do with Tua and his exorbitant contract. Marino is wise enough to grasp that concept. Complicating matters is the presence of a new coaching staff and GM who don’t have a lot of great options to turn to as Tua’s prospective replacement, in part because other major personnel changes must be made.
Some may accuse Marino of politicking on behalf of the organization, or mincing words to keep everything simpatico. In reality, he’s just telling it like it is.
Dan Marino comes to Tua Tagovailoa’s defense as Dolphins navigate shaky QB situation
In an interview with Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio, Marino stated that it’s essential for Miami to bring in competitors at the QB position, but emphasized that the good Tua has done for the franchise shouldn’t be glossed over:
“You have to have competition at that position, and I think that’s probably where the Dolphins have to go, in that direction. […] When you have competition at that position, it’s going to continue to make it better. […] I think [Tua] was excellent. He really was. Excellent guy, human being…He’s still on the roster, so you just don’t know right now. I think the new staff’s coming in; they’ve got to evaluate everything all at one time. As time goes on, this will all play itself out, but right now, Tua’s with us. He’s one of our quarterbacks, and that’s the way it’s going to be.”
“You have to have competition at that position, and I think that’s probably where the Dolphins have to go.” #Dolphins Hall of Famer @DanMarino talks to @AdamSchein about the future of the QB position in Miami & what’s next for Tua ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/jp3YApNGfx
— Mad Dog Sports Radio (@MadDogRadio) February 6, 2026
Given that he has a real role in the front office amid this regime change, it’s noteworthy that Marino isn’t writing off Tua. He’s not signaling that an eventual trade or release is inevitable.
Again, maybe that’s to save face. Maybe it’s to avoid tipping Miami’s hand on what its QB plans are. Maybe, though, it has to do with Marino’s belief that Tua can bounce back under head coach Jeff Hafley and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik.
Not to say that Tua deserves the benefit of the doubt. He looked like a shell of himself this past season en route to throwing 15 interceptions and getting benched for seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers.
Miami is probably a year away from being a year away. The AFC East is a figurative beast of a mountain to climb, with the reigning AFC champion Patriots and Bills the clear two front-runners. A QB who can truly compete heads-up with the likes of New England’s Drake Maye and Buffalo superstar Josh Allen ain’t walking through that door in 2026.
Strange as it sounds, Tua might be the Dolphins’ best hope in the short term. Unless they can pull off enough salary cap gymnastics to pay the toll for Malik Willis in free agency, they may be stuck rolling with the Tua-Ewers combo when the new season rolls around.
I’ve advocated for a Joe Milton trade. Willis is the most logical acquisition, since he has Green Bay ties to Hafley and GM Jon-Eric Sullivan. That said, until the Dolphins find a willing Tua trade partner, they’re going to dig themselves a deeper salary cap hole if they release him before free agency opens. It’ll make paying Willis what he’s worth that much more of a struggle.
Marino is bang-on re: the boldest part of his take. Tua was excellent before all the concussions derailed his career. He led the league in yards per pass attempt in 2022 and was the passing yards champion the following year. Tua will not, in all likelihood, come close to that peak form ever again, yet what is the superior alternative right now to running it back with him?
Dolphins tight end Darren Waller has said Tua is still lighting it up in practice, but struggling to transition that form to game days. Is it a matter of time before Tua gets comfortable again, or should Miami really cut bait now and move on?
Given that they’re on such a long-view timeline to turn the team around, Marino’s implication that bringing in competition for Tua, and not necessarily punting him off the roster, feels like a grounded, practical approach to such a difficult, big-picture issue to solve. Fins fans may want to start wrapping their minds around the possibility.
