Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa Not 'Playing to Keep My Job,' Performance Must Be 'Better'

The 2025 season has been a disappointing one for the Miami Dolphins, but Tua Tagovailoa is more focused on returning to his previous form than his job security.

"I wouldn't say I'm playing to keep my job," the quarterback told reporters Wednesday. "I think I'm playing to help our team win every time. I think that's the objective for every quarterback that's playing. For every football player that's playing as well, the objective is 'how can I help my team win games?'

"So I would say if you're looking at it in that sense, I would say my performance needs to be better. My performance doesn't reflect me trying to keep my job because that's not the standard I've been playing (to) all these other years."

Tagovailoa has certainly performed better in the past such as when he was a Pro Bowler in 2023 while leading the NFL with 4,624 passing yards or when he led the league with a 72.9 completion percentage just last season.

It has been a different story in 2025, as he is 2-7 as a starter with a league-worst 11 interceptions.

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His performance is just one concern for the Dolphins this season, as they also lost Tyreek Hill for the year to a knee injury and have been playing with rumors about head coach Mike McDaniel's future circulating for much of the campaign.

Tagovailoa is signed through the 2028 season, but continued poor play could force the front office to evaluate the quarterback position during the upcoming offseason. That is especially true if the team decides to move on from McDaniel, as a new head coach may want to work with a different quarterback.

The Alabama product doesn't feel like he is playing for his job, but he could create some more long-term security for his role atop the depth chart by turning things around during the season's stretch run.

And he will look to start doing just that Sunday against the division-rival Buffalo Bills.