Shame of the Game - Colts

[dolphins4life]

Tua

[Denver2]

Tua without question

[Sibster]

Turnover Tua

[Dave Gray]

McDaniel -- Tua was horrible.  The defense allows scores on 7 out of 7 possessions.  On special teams, we roughed the punter to keep a drive alive.

Nothing went well, in any phase.

I am a fan of McDaniel.  However, I think that this is likely the unraveling of this current regime.  We sealed our fate when we gave that huge contract to Tua.  He had to overperform to make it worth it, and each season, we were going to lose other talent that we couldn't afford and the guys we were paying like Tyreek were going to get a little older and a little slower and less effective.  Basically, we were going to have to ask Tua to stay healthy and to do more with less.

McDaniel and Tua aren't truly linked, since Tua was taken and brought up under another coach, but they sure seem like they're linked.  I think you're kinda stuck with what you have for now.  You can't afford to lose Tua and it doesn't make sense to change coaches....so I guess you just ride it out.  And I don't think that the community will have the stomach to see Tua to the end of his time here and then still keep McDaniel.

[masterfins]

Undoubtedly McDaniel.

DHM Tua

If Miami doesn't go on a win streak against some of these easy early games McDaniel will be gone by mid season, instead of waiting until year end.

[Downunder Dolphan]

Easy to spot Tua for the dishonor today - those two INTs were just so far off the target you really have to wonder WTF was he thinking?

Ultimately though, it has to go to McDaniel.

Our defense was just as atrocious - when a team like the Colts doesn't have to punt all day, you know it sucks as bad as our offense.

We saw the same kind of mental mistakes as last season, and the same shitty playcalling. The team just didn't look prepared or committed.

I said before this game that we are still well and truly hitched to the Tua/Tyreek/Waddle or bust scenario, and this week would say a lot. It says a whole lot of yuck.

[Downunder Dolphan]

McDaniel and Tua aren't truly linked, since Tua was taken and brought up under another coach, but they sure seem like they're linked.  I think you're kinda stuck with what you have for now.  You can't afford to lose Tua and it doesn't make sense to change coaches....so I guess you just ride it out.  And I don't think that the community will have the stomach to see Tua to the end of his time here and then still keep McDaniel.

I think we are stuck with Tua for at least one more season because of his contract guarantees, but after 2026 he's possible trade bait or an outright cut.

With McDaniel though, it will be a question of how bad it gets, and more importantly, if fans stop going to games. Ross is traditionally pretty loyal and patient, but if it looks bad and hits his wallet, that will run out.

[Downunder Dolphan]

[masterfins]

I think we are stuck with Tua for at least one more season because of his contract guarantees, but after 2026 he's possible trade bait or an outright cut.

Trade Bait? Lol for what a 13th rounder?

No matter what the cost, keeping Tua for another year is not an option if he has more games like yesterday.

[Downunder Dolphan]

Trade Bait? Lol for what a 13th rounder?

No matter what the cost, keeping Tua for another year is not an option if he has more games like yesterday.

Someone may bite because he's a former high first round pick and Pro Bowl player - and it doesn't matter what you get back, you take what you can to get him off the books.

That said, Tua's probably only one concussion/serious injury away from retirement too. The way the right side of our OL played yesterday, that may come sooner than later.

[Dave Gray]

Someone may bite because he's a former high first round pick and Pro Bowl player - and it doesn't matter what you get back, you take what you can to get him off the books.

Nobody will take his contract.

I'm not an expert, but you can't just sign guys to max money and then not play them and you can't trade them because other people don't want the contract.  I don't see a way out of this other that just to ride it out and take your lumps.

[Downunder Dolphan]

Nobody will take his contract.

I'm not an expert, but you can't just sign guys to max money and then not play them and you can't trade them because other people don't want the contract.  I don't see a way out of this other that just to ride it out and take your lumps.

It's more a case of losing his un-guaranteed money off the cap-hit by getting him out of the building after 2026. It doesn't matter what a prospective partner coughs up.

The bulk of the guaranteed cash for Tua is for this season and next - after that he can potentially be offloaded with little cap hit from the end of 2026. That could all change if his contract gets renegotiated to spread out the guaranteed cash and reduce the cap hits early on... but we've already seen how that can backfire badly and be stuck with a continuing cap hit for a player long gone (like X).

Similar to what happened with Ramsey & Tyreek this off-season - both were untradable pre-June 1st because we'd be on the hook for all of the guaranteed money. Ramsey was gone immediately afterwards because we copped half of the whack. It will be the same with Tyreek - you can safely bet he's outta the building permanently at the end of the season (if not traded beforehand).

[Spider-Dan]

If this team is as bad as everyone says (after 1 game), why wouldn't you just keep all these expensive players and tank?

[Downunder Dolphan]

Some further analysis and tape of plays here. This team is an absolute mess.

https://www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/news/upon-further-review-more-takeaways-from-dolphins-week-1-loss-01k4n4m03wyt

[Downunder Dolphan]

It's more a case of losing his un-guaranteed money off the cap-hit by getting him out of the building after 2026. It doesn't matter what a prospective partner coughs up.

The bulk of the guaranteed cash for Tua is for this season and next - after that he can potentially be offloaded with little cap hit from the end of 2026. That could all change if his contract gets renegotiated to spread out the guaranteed cash and reduce the cap hits early on... but we've already seen how that can backfire badly and be stuck with a continuing cap hit for a player long gone (like X).

Similar to what happened with Ramsey & Tyreek this off-season - both were untradable pre-June 1st because we'd be on the hook for all of the guaranteed money. Ramsey was gone immediately afterwards because we copped half of the whack. It will be the same with Tyreek - you can safely bet he's outta the building permanently at the end of the season (if not traded beforehand).

https://phinphanatic.com/dolphins-fans-hoping-dump-tua-tagovailoa-shouldnt-hold-their-breath

Someone else has looked into nitty-gritty of this, and the following are the scary figures they came up with:

If we cut Tua anytime before June 1st 2026, it's going to be a cap hit of $79.2M! If he's a post June 2026 cut, we only save $6M and still wear $62.4M in dead money. It's the same for a trade.

From that, it's a pretty safe bet we're on the hook for him for all of 2025, and probably also 2026. Even if he's just holding a clipboard.

After the 2026 season is over, it's another story.

"Releasing Tagovailoa with a post-June 1 designation in 2027 would save Miami $45 million in cap room. They would inherit just $8.4 million in dead money. If they outright cut him before then, the Dolphins would save $36.6 million with a $16 million dead cap charge.

It's important to note, too, that the savings are the same on both fronts if Miami was to trade the former No. 5 overall pick, but if this leads to the front office wanting to move on they would have lost all of their leverage. Interested teams would just wait for him to get cut at that point."

If there's a regime change, there may be a chance he also gets moved out if there's the will to do it, and enough savings from Tyreek being off the books at the end of 2025 to wear the heavy cost. But it's more likely to be after the 2026 season.