When it comes to cutting Tua. I didn’t think we could, I wished we could, but I just didn't know if we would pay out 100 million dollars. But I now believe Tua will be cut or traded for anything. No way the franchise Qb doesn’t show up to welcome the new head coach as the correct gesture. Hafley said he had a conversation with Tua and it was a productive one and that Tua was on vacation. wow, the reality is kicking in and I couldn’t be happier, let the unprecedented drama unfold. I said after the season if he had any desire/intellect/wherewithal to be back and rectify what he did to the franchise, his teammates and the fans by mailing a season in and taking 50 million while doing so he would almost immediately let’s say about two weeks after the season, start a redemption campaign and perhaps even a public apology to the fans and start training like a mad man and having his Pr team post those videos to win our forgiveness and give us hope. a month later, a new coach has arrived, no videos, no word from him, and he’s still on vacation. I’m blown away with this person
I think Tua has precisely zero trade value because of a combination of salary and being a distraction as a backup QB. Which means his only path to a starting gig in 2026 is to earn the dolphins #1QB spot the hard way. However I wouldn't believe any workout videos/public redemption path simply because we saw it happen in 2023 only for it to fall by the wayside by the back end of 2024. Fool me once kind of thing. Having said that, it is wild to me that Tua isn't in the building to meet Hafley. He can cut his vacation short, he can defer his vacation. What he can't do is show the bee boss a lack of commitment.
Well, he CAN but the question is though, WILL he? As it is now, I'm not optimistic he'll make his way back to a starting role on any team.
Just saw a rumor the vikings are willing to give 2 firsts and more to get Joe Burrow. We can't get a ham sandwich for Tua and would most likley will have to give a team a 3rd to get rid of him.Lol!
He definitely has no trade value but I don't get the idea of him being a distraction as a backup. As in the media would make it an issue? Because the media does not care at all about Tua.
I actually think the Vikings would be a good spot for Tua. They have a QB on a rookie deal they are still developing but don't trust. Tua won't be a long term threat or option, but he can come in and play the season for them (or until he gets hurt) and probably be decent enough. They wouldn't have to give up anything of significance (maybe a late round swap) and probably wouldn't need to assume more than 7-8 million of the salary. For us, it just clears the deck and gives a small cap relief. Win Win. Yeah I think he's actually a really good short term option/backup. He's competent enough to run an OK offense, but he's unlikely to be good enough to wow anyone, and his health is a naturally limiting factor.
The Dolphins options for Tua... 1. Just keep him on the roster and let hm compete for the starting job, be it against Ewers, a free agent we bring in or a quarterback we draft. 2. Rip the bandage off and just straight up cut him. Take the $99 million cap hit and spread it over the next two years. Next year is going to be a rough year, but this will just add to what we can do in free agency and any contracts. 3. Keep Tua and then cut him at the end of the 2026 season. If we cut him at the end of the season, it's a $21 million cap savings towards 2027. If he's designated a post June 1st cut, that jumps up to $36 million. 4. This one, the most preferential one but the most difficult, trade Tua. His current contract makes this extremely difficult due to the $56 million he's owed this season, so the only way t be able to do this would be to restructure his contract, convert what he's due to a signing bonus and find a suitor willing to trade for him. Any trade for Tua will most certainly involve a trading a draft pick as well, possibly sending a 6th rounder along with Tua in exchange for a conditional 4th or 5th round pick. This one would be the most ideal for the team but alas, it has way too many moving parts that would all have to fall in line at once, which is realistically unfeasible. If I were a betting man, I would guess the Dolphins will go with option #3. Keep him on the roster, let him compete for the starting job, which I don't believe he's going to get either way and then cut him post June 1st at the end of next season. Now I'm not in Tua's head; I don't know what his mindset is. Does he even WANT to play anymore? Is he in a slump and just needs a spark of motivation to bring him back to 2023 level of play or is he just completely and physically finished? I don't know. No one really knows, we're all just speculating but it does seem that Tua is DONE in Miami as it is right now. I don't see him winning the starting job and Tua's ONLY hope for redemption will be a Minnesota type of situation; starter goes down, Tua comes in ala Darnold, plays lights out and we can get a decent trade for him at the end of the 2026 season. Regardless of what the Dolphins do with Tua, it's a forgone conclusion that 2026 is going to be a miserable year so everyone needs to buckle up...it's going to be a bumpy ride.
I would guess option 3 or 4. And if we take most of the cap hit (via bonuses) before trading him, I don't think we'd have to give up a draft pick. We've paid $5-10M a year for backup nobodies that were never going to actually start...that's pretty standard these days. So Tua in that price range would make a lot of sense for the reasons you listed earlier. Then again, option 1 isn't terrible either. It sucks cap wise, but it's probably our best possible chance of recouping anything from our investment. Why pay the guy $40M to leave when we'd have to turn around and find a backup QB? Let him ride that bench or start if we need him to.
