I would not extend Tua

[dolphins4life]

We saw what happened to the Broncos and Packers.

Tyreek Hill is retiring in 1 or 2 years.  Tua is only good with Tyreek Hill.

Fun Fact:  Baker Mayfield did better than Brady did last season with the Bucs.  Jordan Love did better than Aaron Rodgers did with the Packers.

[Denver2]

I wouldn’t either I think you have to win some games in the postseason next year to warrant it.

I don’t see anyone better though , what are our options?

Wish I could peek into the reality where we drafted Herbert but still have Hill, Waddle and McDaniel…

[Spider-Dan]

You can wait to see more meaningful results before you resign Tua, just like BAL did with Joe Flacco.  He won the Super Bowl and BAL had to break the bank to keep him, which you could argue hurt their short-term competitive viability: the Ravens only made the playoffs with Flacco once over the duration of that contract.  (Of course, another option is to wait for your QB to win Super Bowl MVP and then let him walk for nothing, the wisdom of which I will leave the reader to judge.)

There is another Raven strategy that MIA could copy to replace Tua: just draft a (two-time?) MVP to replace him, with your late first-round pick.  But this strategy raises the question of why the Dolphins wouldn't simply draft an MVP quarterback in the first place, or why they have chosen not to for the past 30 years.

My recommendation would be to sign Tua now to a backloaded deal.  You can still get him at a reasonable price, probably similar to what Herbert or Hurts got a year ago (which represents a significant discount in 2024 at the same price).  If he continues to improve, you keep him; if he doesn't, you let him go.

But I think this fanbase would be traumatized if Tua follows the Drew Brees arc and goes somewhere else to have incredible success on his way to a ring.

[Dave Gray]

I don't have an answer here, but I think it depends on how good the deal is.  I can totally understand letting Tua walk if he is going to require elite player money.  It hurts, but I think it's fair to say that you aren't going to win a Super Bowl when you put that many of your resources in one player and that player is Tua, a guy I really like.

I know you can't just go to the franchise QB tree and pick another one, but you have to make smart, passionless decisions and can't risk getting into a Russel Wilson / Joe Flacco contract.  I hope we are able to make it work, but I will be supportive if we are not.

I think it unlikely for Tua to get a max contract with another team and go light up the world.

[masterfins]

He's got guaranteed pay for 2024. IMO they shouldn't give him an extension unless it's a really good deal, which it's not going to be.  I commend him for making it through the season without injuries, but he didn't perform at important points.

[Pappy13]

My recommendation would be to sign Tua now to a backloaded deal.

Why would Tua take a deal like this or maybe the better question is why would Tua's agent allow him to take a deal like this? With his injury history? Not a chance. I mean if Tua would go for it, absolutely but Tua's not going to go for it.

I'm betting that Miami ends up using Tua's 5th year option. All the talk of signing him to a long term deal is smoke and mirrors hoping that Tua would actually do the above, but I have zero expectations it will happen.

[Spider-Dan]

Why would Tua take a deal like this or maybe the better question is why would Tua's agent allow him to take a deal like this? With his injury history? Not a chance.

Basically every starting QB's deal is guaranteed for injury, so that wouldn't really be a concern for him.

I'm betting that Miami ends of using Tua's 5th year option.

Miami already did that 10 months ago.

[Pappy13]

Miami already did that 10 months ago.

What I'm suggesting is that nothing is going to change this offseason. Are we talking about what to do for the 2025 season? I wouldn't make that decision till next offseason.

[CF DolFan]

Omar Kelly and Dave Hyde were discussing something today and it made sense. Wait until after Baker Mayfield and Kurt Cousins signs to negotiate a price. Otherwise just do like you did Wilkins and offer him 75% of what you think he's worth for a few years and if he doesn't take it play him on his 5th year option. They are not just going to let him go and test the market. He's a top 10 QB in this league. Not top 5 at this point but he is still pretty damn good and very hard to replace ... as the last 25 years have proven.

[Pappy13]

Omar Kelly and Dave Hyde were discussing something today and it made sense. Wait until after Baker Mayfield and Kurt Cousins signs to negotiate a price. Otherwise just do like you did Wilkins and offer him 75% of what you think he's worth for a few years and if he doesn't take it play him on his 5th year option. They are not just going to let him go and test the market. He's a top 10 QB in this league. Not top 5 at this point but he is still pretty damn good and very hard to replace ... as the last 25 years have proven.

There's always the franchise tag. The Ravens did that with Lamar Jackson and no one bit. I don't really see anyone doing that with Tua either. Lamar will get his long term contract this year and if Tua goes deep into the playoffs next year, he'll get one too. That seems to be the way things are going these days and the way that this season ended, I can't really see that changing for Tua.

[Spider-Dan]

Lamar will get his long term contract this year and if Tua goes deep into the playoffs next year, he'll get one too.

Lamar Jackson got his long term contract in May of last year.  Or did you mean nothing would change for Lamar's contract this offseason?

[masterfins]

Heck I'd be okay with trading Tua if they received a pocket full of first round draft picks.

[CF DolFan]

Mike Tannenbaum said Tua had played himself into the 50 million category based on 17 starts and wins. Said he wouldn't do a long time of guaranteed money but would offer in the 50 mill a year range.

[Dave Gray]

Heck I'd be okay with trading Tua if they received a pocket full of first round draft picks.

I don't think any other teams want to take on that risk, paired with the big contract.  It's not about picks.  It's about pay the man now or risk paying the man later, but losing him if it's too late.

[Downunder Dolphan]

Next year is the last year of Tua's rookie contract right?

I think part of this has to be how close you think we really are to breaking through next season to make a genuine run at the title. If we're close, it's got to be tempting to either make Tua play out his rookie deal, or at the very least only extend with a very team-friendly, back-ended contract so we can sign/re-sign critical players.

I am sold that Tua is our guy, and that this is the quickest shot we have at another elusive title. But that's while he's still "cheap" and it does give us an edge we may not have otherwise - and if that means resorting to the franchise tag at the end of his rookie contract (as unpopular as that may be) so be it.

All that said, by the middle of next season I think we will know where we are really at, and either Tua will be on the way to being paid royally or we will be starting to look at other plans.