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[will make impactful selections with first-round picks]

I think I'd have to consider a team taking Tua for a 1st round draft choice, if they are going to pick up his entire contract. That would remove $99M off the books for the cost of a 1st round draft choice.

No, it would not; MIA is still on the hook for the prorated signing bonus.  The new team would only take on his (guaranteed) annual salary for the remaining years.

It would suck to lose that 1st round draft choice, but the rebuild gets a lot easier without Tua's contract. 1st round draft choices are hit and miss, that $99M is a sure thing. It would essentially mean that 2026 wouldn't necessarily be a wasted year, the rebuild would start in 2026, rather than really starting in 2027.

First off, you have to start with the assumption that the GM will make impactful selections with first-round picks, because if that doesn't happen, none of the rest of this stuff matters; you cannot be successful if you are whiffing on first-round picks.

Second, first-round picks are able to contribute at a discounted rate for up to 5 years, making them much more valuable than one down year in 2026.  That first-round pick can be a foundational player that contributes for years to come... especially if the team is bad in 2026 and it's an early pick.

And third, the entire idea of "cap hell" being an insurmountable barrier to competitive play is overblown.  We saw this in DEN, where the Broncos cut Russell Wilson after 2023 and ate his huge contract, yet still made the playoffs in 2024, then clinched the #1 seed in 2025 with Russell Wilson as the team's highest paid player.

Would Jonnu Smith come back to the Dolphins?  After a sub par season in Pittsburgh the Steelers released Jonnu for cap reasons.  Miami could get him back at a reduced price.

Hell no. He proved his mercenary nature after one decent season, and followed it up with a whole lot of nothing at the Steelers.

We should be aiming NOT to bring these sorts of clowns into the building anymore.

Ps. I think most agree we won the trade shipping his ass out with Ramsey to the Steelers for Minkah in return.

[One team considered taking Tua Tagovailoa in trade with a Miami first round pick]

I think I'd have to consider a team taking Tua for a 1st round draft choice, if they are going to pick up his entire contract. That would remove $99M off the books for the cost of a 1st round draft choice. That seems reasonable to me. It would suck to lose that 1st round draft choice, but the rebuild gets a lot easier without Tua's contract. 1st round draft choices are hit and miss, that $99M is a sure thing. It would essentially mean that 2026 wouldn't necessarily be a wasted year, the rebuild would start in 2026, rather than really starting in 2027. I think that's worth a 1st round pick.

What do you think?

One team considered taking Tua Tagovailoa in trade with a Miami first round pick

That looks like a pie-in-the-sky clickbait story at best. Has any real media run this?

I think it's a mute point anyway. If another team is going to have to carry $99M on their books the next two years, they will either want more than our current first round pick, or more likely next years first round pick with the expectation we will fully bottom out and it could easily be a top 5 pick (possible #1). Would you want to throw away the first pick in the draft when we're rebuilding from scratch?

Would Jonnu Smith come back to the Dolphins?  After a sub par season in Pittsburgh the Steelers released Jonnu for cap reasons.  Miami could get him back at a reduced price.

If another team was going to take Tua and the guaranteed $54 million he is owed, for their 1st round draft pick I would do it.  Like Pappy said draft picks can be a hit or miss.  The Jets need a QB he could go there; not to mention with the cold weather and that field in NJ he wouldn't hurt the Dolphins.

[One team considered taking Tua Tagovailoa in trade with a Miami first round pick]

I think I'd have to consider a team taking Tua for a 1st round draft choice, if they are going to pick up his entire contract. That would remove $99M off the books for the cost of a 1st round draft choice. That seems reasonable to me. It would suck to lose that 1st round draft choice, but the rebuild gets a lot easier without Tua's contract. 1st round draft choices are hit and miss, that $99M is a sure thing. It would essentially mean that 2026 wouldn't necessarily be a wasted year, the rebuild would start in 2026, rather than really starting in 2027. I think that's worth a 1st round pick.

What do you think?

One team considered taking Tua Tagovailoa in trade with a Miami first round pick

Again you just have to consider how wildly incompatible McDaniel's personality is with the nature of the game of football.

If you have a 0 to 100 scale that measures head coaches' personalities and zero is "clown nerd" and 100 is "Vince Lombardi," you don't need a head coach who scores 90+.  You can win with one with a score of at least 40 or 50.

But what you can't do is win with one with a score of zero.  That's far too incompatible with the game of football.  Tiddlywinks or pickleball, sure -- football, no.

You can win with him in football if he's a coordinator -- in that capacity he doesn't establish the "personality" or culture of the entire team.  The head coach will do that while he's restricted to his strength of Xs and Os.

And notice that's precisely where he was hired.

Some guys peak as coordinators.   They were never meant to be head coaches.   

He's not wrong.   A perfect example of this was when the Dolphins first started under George Wilson.  He was known for being lax at times and being a drinking buddy with some of the players.   He let players he liked miss curfew.   I will give him credit.   He had a keen eye for talent.   A lot of the key contributors on those Super Bowl winning teams were brought in by him.

Then Don Shula came along and basically beat the shit out of this team.   Told them that things had to change drastically and it wouldn't be pleasant if they wanted to be winners.   The players hated him for it... until they started winning.  Then they loved him for it.

Again you just have to consider how wildly incompatible McDaniel's personality is with the nature of the game of football.

If you have a 0 to 100 scale that measures head coaches' personalities and zero is "clown nerd" and 100 is "Vince Lombardi," you don't need a head coach who scores 90+.  You can win with one with a score of at least 40 or 50.

But what you can't do is win with one with a score of zero.  That's far too incompatible with the game of football.  Tiddlywinks or pickleball, sure -- football, no.

You can win with him in football if he's a coordinator -- in that capacity he doesn't establish the "personality" or culture of the entire team.  The head coach will do that while he's restricted to his strength of Xs and Os.

And notice that's precisely where he was hired.

[and played his highest level of football as a high school wide receiver]

Mostert has long been bitter over being released.  He's hardly an unbiased source.

His perspective converges with that of others close to the situation as well, as is noted throughout this thread.

That article is also wrong on some very basic facts, which isn't exactly surprising for the NY Post:

McDaniel, who graduated from Yale and played his highest level of football as a high school wide receiver, is known for his wit during press conferences, but Mostert indicated that the Dolphins’ former coach lost the locker room during his time in the building beginning in 2022.

McDaniel earned four letters as a WR on the Yale football team, which means his highest level of football was NCAA FCS.

When you consider the following, you should read that to mean that he played his best football as a high school wide receiver:

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/mike-mcdaniel-yale-playing-career-position/e7kaikroey8sxme2alelrvsf

[and played his highest level of football as a high school wide receiver]

Mostert has long been bitter over being released.  He's hardly an unbiased source.

That article is also wrong on some very basic facts, which isn't exactly surprising for the NY Post:

McDaniel, who graduated from Yale and played his highest level of football as a high school wide receiver, is known for his wit during press conferences, but Mostert indicated that the Dolphins’ former coach lost the locker room during his time in the building beginning in 2022.

McDaniel earned four letters as a WR on the Yale football team, which means his highest level of football was NCAA FCS.