We have officially gone into the upside-down.
Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report proposed a trade between the New York Jets and their bitter AFC East rival.
New York Jets receive: quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, a 2027 third-round pick, and salary considerations
Miami Dolphins receive: a 2027 fourth-round pick
Davenport described this trade as “unlikely.”
“Nothing would make the Dolphins look worse than Tagovailoa reviving his career in the AFC East. However, the Jets do check a couple of the boxes required to make a trade work. Their quarterback situation is a problem … That the Dolphins would probably have to send a pick to the Jets and eat salary underlines just how hard a Tagovailoa trade will be to pull off, given his contract,” Davenport explained.
“However, the Alabama product could serve as either a bridge starter while a rookie acclimates to the NFL, or as a placeholder who would allow the Jets to punt to what appears to be a much stronger QB class in 2027,” Davenport added.
This Would Be One of the Worst Decisions in Jets Franchise History
The Dolphins just benched Tagovailoa, putting his future with the team very much in question.
Miami is rolling with seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers as their QB1. The Dolphins passed over former Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, who was listed as the backup throughout the season.
Tagovailoa, 27, still has three years remaining on his $212 million contract.
Miami is between a rock and a hard place financially. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter revealed that Tagovailoa “already has $54 million guaranteed to him in 2026. On March 15, $3M of his 2027 salary becomes guaranteed. Cutting him would leave $99M in dead money. [A] post June 1 cut would equal $67.4M in dead money in 2026, $31.8M in 2027.”
That $99 million dead cap hit would be the largest in NFL history. In other words, Miami is screwed. Why would the Jets save them by making this trade? It doesn’t make any sense.
If Tagovailoa isn’t good enough to keep starting on his own team, why would he be good enough to be the QB1 in New York?
Multiple Things Can Be True at the Same Time…
Is Tagovailoa better than anything the Jets currently boast at quarterback? Unequivocally yes.
The former Alabama product has appeared in 78 games and has made 76 starts. With those opportunities, Tagovailoa has completed 68% of his passes, has thrown for 18,166 passing yards, and has a 120 touchdown to 59 interception ratio.
With those numbers, Tua would be fourth in Jets history in all-time passing yards, third all-time in passing touchdowns, and he would be No. 1 in completion percentage of any player who has completed at least one full season.
Just because Tagovailoa is better than anything the Jets have doesn’t necessarily mean he should be the next QB1 of the NYJ.
Excuse the pun, but something smells fishy with this entire situation, and the Jets should want no part of it. Force Miami to cut Tua, because that’s where this seems to be heading, and make them eat the salary. Don’t save them from their mistake.
Moving up a single round in a pick swap on day three of the NFL draft isn’t a good enough reward to counter the bad.
Bizarre Jets Trade Pitch Delivers Hated $212 Million Rival QB