It has been a rough last year for former Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Despite staying healthy during the 2025 season, which was a rarity for the quarterback, his performance declined and he was benched for the first time since his rookie season.
His benching and disappointing performance in 2025 led to his release after the season, even though he still had over $54 million guaranteed for the 2026 season. Tagovailoa then signed with the Atlanta Falcons, as they gave him an opportunity to compete for the starting job.
Tagovailoa ended up being named the team’s Week 1 starter, as Michael Penix Jr. was deemed not ready to play. Unfortunately, days before the season kicked off, Tagovailoa had another downturn and suffered an oblique injury during practice which resulted in him being ruled out and considered week-to-week.
That has put the former Dolphins quarterback’s status up in the air, and one former head coach seems to believe retirement is on the horizon.
Former NFL Head Coach Says Tua Tagovailoa Is Retired
While speaking with Tyler Dunne on the Go Long podcast, former NFL head coach Todd Haley compared Tua Tagovailoa’s current situation to Russell Wilson’s, when Wilson was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Haley felt that Wilson wasn’t 100% in and wanted to move on to do other things.
Haley said, “I feel like Tua’s retired and hasn’t told anybody yet. He wants to be out there, but he really doesn’t.”
Haley added, “What I saw at the tail end of Miami’s season last year, and then he got benched, but it didn’t look right, it didn’t look like somebody that was fighting to the end.”
He is not the first to wonder about Tagovailoa’s future in the NFL, as NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe posted on X after Tagovailoa’s latest injury: “Falcons QB Tua Tagovailoa will be week-to-week with an oblique injury, per HC Kevin Stefanski
Gotta wonder if this was his shot & it’s now passing by”
Gotta wonder if this was his shot & it’s now passing by
Michael Penix won’t play Sunday. Penix is close but on his own timeline not based on team need
Cooper Rush QB1. Jack Strand QB2
Miami Dolphins Ramifications
Ultimately, if Tagovailoa does indeed decide to retire and never plays another NFL snap again, the Miami Dolphins would not earn any salary cap relief. His 2026 contract was already guaranteed, and Miami is on the hook for his dead cap as well.
It would mean that his last plays as an NFL quarterback came against the Dolphins in preseason action. During that game, Tagovailoa went 7-for-8 with 95 passing yards in Atlanta’s 17-12 win over Miami.
Regarding Tagovailoa’s latest injury and how that brought back a familiar feeling, DolphinsTalk’s Brian Marr wrote: “When I heard that Tua went down in practice, I started to have flashbacks to his time with the Dolphins. It was always something with him; it wasn’t just the highly publicized concussions, but also a thumb, rib, finger, and finally a hip injury that I honestly believed took what remained of his arm strength. He has not looked the same since December 2024, which led to an entire 2025 campaign of uneven play.”
Ex-NFL HC Shares Bleak Take on Ex-Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa’s Future