Now is the time to sit Tua

[Pappy13]

For a significant majority of those 76 games, he's played better than almost every player on the current defense.  Hell, even this season when the defense was playing like the worst unit in the league, no one was saying to bench/cut all of them and see if the backups or practice squad can play.

No one on the defensive side of the ball is making 50 million a year or considered a franchise type player in my opinion. Heck I'm not sure the entire starting 11 are making 50 million a year combined. I had higher expectations going into the year for Tua than everyone on the defensive side of the ball and pretty much everyone on the offensive side of the ball too and he hasn't lived up to that this year. Playing up to the level of the defense or the rest of the offense isn't good enough and lately he's not even doing that. As the leader of the team and being the franchise player he's being paid to be, I expect a lot more from Tua than I do most other players so he's falling pretty far short of expectations in my humble opinion. Perhaps even further short of expectations than anyone else on the team that isn't on injured reserve. Is that unfair?

[Pappy13]

But I think that is exactly what they will do.  Can't trade him unless Miami agrees to continue paying part of his salary. I would hope to see a true QB competition in training camp next year if McDaniel will let it happen (That's a reason to let McD go) On the positive side there are a lot of young players that have got to see a lot of live NFL action this season and these players have improved throughout the season; I think that's partly the reason for the uptick in defensive play.  Additionally the young guys on the left side of the O-line have been playing together and improving.  From that perspective there are some positives to this season in evaluating other players on the team.

I agree and I think Miami would be foolish to give Ewers one start against New England in the final game of the season after they have been officially eliminated from the playoffs which I think is where we are headed.

[fyo]

No one on the defensive side of the ball is making 50 million a year or considered a franchise type player in my opinion. Heck I'm not sure the entire starting 11 are making 50 million a year combined.

Just nitpicking, but Tua's cap hit is $39 million this year. That jumps next year to $56 million, but for now it's at least somewhat lower. It's an ugly contract for the Dolphins, though. I wasn't surprised (or opposed, really) by the total amount, but the structure is brutal. If we, as I fully expect, cut Tua after the '26 season, he will have been paid over $146 million for 2 extension years. Technically, the contract replaced his '24 rookie contract, so that amount is paid out in '24, '25, and '26 (plus $3 million in '27). Still, that is one heck of an expensive extra two years.

As for the defense, the top 10 in terms of 2025 salary cap are pretty much exactly $50 million.

[Pappy13]

Just nitpicking, but Tua's cap hit is $39 million this year. That jumps next year to $56 million, but for now it's at least somewhat lower.

Fair enough, but in my defense his earnings in 2025 is 51 million.

Here’s how his 2025 compensation is structured:
- Base Salary: $25,046,000
- Signing Bonus (prorated): $25,000,000
- Workout Bonus: $250,000
- Total Cash Earnings (2025): $51,046,000
- Cap Hit (2025): $39,181,294
- Dead Cap Value (2025): $137,896,000

As for the defense, the top 10 in terms of 2025 salary cap are pretty much exactly $50 million.

Does that include Phillips who is no longer on the team and was probably the biggest under achiever (money wise) on the defensive side of the ball this year? He wasn't just benched, he was traded which is what we should probably do with Tua if anyone would take his contract. We all keep saying that Tua will be on the Dolphins next year which is probably the case, but don't forget that there will be a new GM for the Dolphins next year and he might just be willing to eat a big part of Tua's salary to replace him anyway especially if McDaniel is replaced as well. Stranger things have happened. 2026 could be a complete rebuild year and Tua might not be in the plans. I think that's unlikely mostly because I don't think the owner wants that, but it's still a possibility.

[fyo]

Fair enough, but in my defense his earnings in 2025 is 51 million.

Not sure how that was calculated and I think we both agree that it doesn't really matter too much. I just wanted an "in" to complain about Tua's contract. For what it's worth, the source I used didn't specify that the payout structure of his signing bonus. Weird that it was split across multiple years (since he was apparently paid $25 million of it this year of the $42 million total). Oh well.

Does that include Phillips who is no longer on the team and was probably the biggest under achiever (money wise) on the defensive side of the ball this year?

No, only players still with the team. Phillips counts nearly $12 million against our cap this year, Howard $15.7 million, and Ramsey another $15 million. None of those were counted. Kohou on IR wasn't counted either. But it was *cap* and not whatever they were paid out, which isn't listed as nicely

We all keep saying that Tua will be on the Dolphins next year which is probably the case, but don't forget that there will be a new GM for the Dolphins next year and he might just be willing to eat a big part of Tua's salary to replace him anyway especially if McDaniel is replaced as well. Stranger things have happened. 2026 could be a complete rebuild year and Tua might not be in the plans. I think that's unlikely, but it's still a possibility.

Have stranger this happened? Sure, but I don't see anyone trading for Tua with his current contract. And the dead money is *obscene* if you cut him. Around $100 million. That's an extra cap hit of well over $40 million compared to keeping him for 2026. You could designate him a post-June 1 cut and spread the hit over two years, but that doesn't really make at that much more palatable if what you want is just to get out quick. Could someone agree to a trade if we eat a large part of his salary? Sure, but his payouts look like they are close to $50 million a year, so that would have to be a hella substantial chunk.

IMHO, Tua is going to be playing under a new contract in 2027. One way or another.

Obviously, I wouldn't mind it one bit if he flipped a switch and started playing like a top quarterback.

[Denver2]

Now that the season is over it’s time to bench Tua and see what happens.

[Sibster]

Now that the season is over it’s time to bench Tua and see what happens.

Agreed.   You know what you have with him and it won't be enough to win.   His play has gone downhill as a result of the shots he's taken to the head and the time he's missed.

He is now 0-6 when the temperature is below 40 degrees, 3-12 in his last 15 games against teams with winning records, 2-8 in his last 10 games in prime time, and his mobility has tanked while his interception count has skyrocketed.

And the sad thing is, this team is stuck with him for at least one more year.   

[CF DolFan]

I'd love them to sit Tua but I really don't see it happening. Mike doesn't have the balls to make the hard descisions and Ross won't.

[Pappy13]

I'd love them to sit Tua but I really don't see it happening. Mike doesn't have the balls to make the hard descisions and Ross won't.

If Mike doesn't sit Tua next game, he should not be the coach next year. It's not about saving your job anymore, it's about preparing this team for next year and beyond and that starts now. If you can't do what needs to be done, then you're not the coach for the Dolphins. I really like McDaniel and would like him to stay, but if he's too connected to Tua, then he has to go too. The rebuild is on whether they admit it or not. The GM is gone. Maybe it's time to get rid of the coach and the QB as well. Full rebuild. I hate to say that as there's no guarantee that getting rid of everyone is going to solve anything, but keeping them around doesn't seem to be the solution.

[Spider-Dan]

Your position does not even allow for the possibility that either of the other two QBs on the roster are even worse than Tua.
Which is a really strange position to take, given that we've seen 5 years of backups coming off the bench and playing worse than him.

[Downunder Dolphan]

With the playoffs now out of reach, he should be benched for the rest of the season.

His current form is awful, the worst of his career - whether it's is due to lack of confidence, hits to the head, or other rumored injuries (like the hip affecting his footwork and throwing mechanics) I've seen enough now to think he should be removed to sort this out.

We're likely stuck with him next season because of his contract, so it really doesn't make an awful lot of sense pushing him out there - unless it's for him to get an injury if there's a potential clause in his contract to get out of paying up. Not that it matters, because Tua now looks to be making sure he definitely doesn't get injured out there.

[Pappy13]

Your position does not even allow for the possibility that either of the other two QBs on the roster are even worse than Tua.

On the contrary, I'm actually assuming they are but would like to see them play so we know. If the other 2 QB's on the roster are worse than Tua then we need to be working on finding a replacement for Tua after 2026. Besides, they don't necessarily need to be better than Tua they just need to be close to keep them around. If they are close then we can keep them around and get rid of Tua and not be salary capped which allows us to improve in a lot of ways, not necessarily the QB room. With Tua on the roster we can't improve the rest of the team. We need to find out what the 2 backups are, we already know what Tua is.

[CF DolFan]

Mike sounded yesterrday like he was making the switch. Dave Hyde said this morning on the Joe Rose show he thought it was 100% going to happen and that Tua likely has started his last game for the Dolphins ... ever.  

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Mike sounded yesterrday like he was making the switch. Dave Hyde said this morning on the Joe Rose show he thought it was 100% going to happen and that Tua likely has started his last game for the Dolphins ... ever.  

Can the Dolphins afford to not have him on the team next year?

[Dolfanalyst]

OK, so based on this, whoever made the determination that Chris Grier's pick of Tua was a good one and the organization needed only an offensive guru like Mike McDaniel to realize Tua's potential needs to either 1) be fired, or 2) in the event it's Stephen Ross and he can't be fired, realize he needs to hire someone to make GM and head coaching hiring decisions in the future, so that he isn't doing it himself.