While I’m sad to see Tua leave Miami, I also hope the Dolphins will turn the corner and become a championship-calibre team again.
This has been a bittersweet week for me, with the news that the team has released quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
In 2022, Tua was the NFL passing-yardage leader; in 2023, the passing-yardage leader; and in 2024, the completion leader. Overall, he had a 68 percent passing completion percentage, tossed 120 passing touchdowns with only 59 interceptions, and ran for six touchdowns on the ground.
But as his time with the Dolphins progressed, things went south. In the 2025 season, his passer rating was 88.5, down from 101.4 the season before. His TD-INT ratio was also out of whack, too, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
Photo courtesy Change.org
What happened? Tua’s decrease in productivity comes after a string of multiple concussions, which led him to miss multiple games while being under the NFL’s concussion protocol. The severity and frequency of these concussions became a point of concern for NFL analysts and fans alike as he suffered at least four documented concussions from 2022 to 2024.
After several leadership changes within the Dolphins organization this offseason (including a new head coach and GM), many fans assumed the team would move on from Tua as well. And now, that assumption is a reality. As a fan of both the Miami Dolphins and Tua, this feels like both a win and a loss.
As a fan of Tua, I really wanted him to succeed with the Dolphins. Not only is he a great player, but he is also a terrific human being. In 2021, he launched the Tua Foundation, a nonprofit that supports youth initiatives in areas that have had the greatest impact on Tua’s life. Examples include the Police Athletic League of North Miami, FL; Big Oak Ranch, which supports children facing severe hardships in Springville, Alabama; and the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame in Honolulu, HI.
With someone like him on the team, I really wanted the Dolphins to succeed. At one point, I believed he would make the Dolphins competitive again. Who can forget the 70-20 win vs. the Denver Broncos in 2023? Then there were all the concussions. His performance slipped, and it was heartbreaking to witness his steady decline.
I wish him the best of luck on his new team, the Atlanta Falcons.
However, as a Miami Dolphins fan, I feel optimistic. The team has a new head coach and general manager, and it seems likely that Quinn Ewers, who played as Tua’s backup and impressed when he got a chance, will be the Dolphins’ quarterback of the future.
It is a reset of the team’s leadership, a fresh start for a team that hasn’t won a playoff game in over twenty-five years. As a fan, it’s about balancing rooting for a team and wanting a human to succeed.
