New NFL Rumors on Tua Tagovailoa's Contract, Dolphins' Updated Salary Cap Space After Release

The Miami Dolphins announced Thursday they released Tua Tagovailoa with a post-June 1 designation, and they reportedly saved some money against the cap in the process.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported they exercised the quarterback's 2026 option bonus before the move, which means the dead cap charge for this year is $55.4 million instead of $67 million. The dead cap charge will now be $43.8 million in 2027.

Jackson noted it provides a "lot more flexibility" for the AFC East team starting June 2.

According to Over The Cap, the Dolphins have $6.3 million in cap space for 2026.

While things ultimately didn't work out for Tagovailoa in Miami, that wasn't always the case.

The team selected him with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, and he seemed to be well on his way to living up to expectations when he threw for 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2022 before following it up with a Pro Bowl season in 2023.

Not only was he a Pro Bowler that year, but he led the league with 4,624 passing yards and seemed to be the surefire franchise quarterback.

Yet injuries and inconsistent play have been an issue since, including when he threw 15 interceptions and went 6-8 as the starter last season. Miami decided it had seen enough and moved on, even if it is costing it quite a bit of money against the cap to do so.

The Atlanta Falcons will be spending far less money to actually have Tagovailoa on their team, as Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported they agreed to a one-year, $1.3 million deal with the Alabama product.

That doesn't mean Atlanta is handing him the starting job, as it also has Michael Penix Jr. on the roster. While Penix is recovering from a torn ACL, NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe reported there will "be an open competition for the starting job" when he is healthy:

While Penix was just 3-6 as a starter last season prior to the injury, he was also the No. 8 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft. The Falcons surely want to give him another chance to live up to expectations seeing how they used a top-10 pick on him, but he will have to beat out Tagovailoa to get that opportunity.

And that might be easier said than done if the latter can return to the form he showed with the Dolphins in 2022 and 2023.