MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The next phase of the offseason is the annual NFL Scouting Combine, which takes place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Miami Dolphins General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan met with a panel of reporters to provide updates on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, among others.
“We’re evaluating the entire roster,” Sullivan said Tuesday. “As it pertains to Tua, we’ve had conversations with Tua and his representation. Everything is on the table, including the potential of a trade. We don’t know which way that’s going to go. There’s a lot of different factors at play, a lot of conversations being had.”
Signed to a four-year, $212.4 million extension in 2024, Tagovailoa threw a career-high 15 interceptions in 2025.
He was benched in favor of rookie seventh-round draft pick Quinn Ewers, who started Miami’s final three games of the 2025 season.
The Dolphins would incur $99 million in dead money – the largest in league history – in 2026 if they release Tagovailoa this offseason.
However, they could spread that money over two years by designating Tagovailoa as a post-June 1 release.
Tagovailoa is owed $54 million in guaranteed money in 2026.
“It’s my job to infuse competition into that room as well as every other room,” Sullivan added.
Whether Tagovailoa is part of the roster moving forward, Sullivan said the team will draft a quarterback this year and likely every year – adding he will not overdraft one just to “check a box,” according to ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques.
Miami is in a similar situation with safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was drafted by the Dolphins in the first round in 2018, traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019, and traded back to the Dolphins in 2025.
Fitzpatrick doesn’t have any guaranteed money left on his contract and could save the team up to $15.6 million if he is released after June 1, Louis-Jacques confirmed.
Sullivan confirmed the team has held conversations with Fitzpatrick and his agent.
As the Dolphins continue listening to offers involving all their players, Sullivan said the team views running back De’Von Achane and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle as key pieces of the organization’s future.
The team has no plans to trade either player this offseason and is willing to discuss a contract extension with Achane, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal, “later in the summer,” per Sullivan.
On Feb. 16, Sullivan made major roster moves, releasing eight-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Tyreek Hill, wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, outside linebacker Bradley Chubb and guard James Daniels.
Sullivan told the media the reason for releasing Hill and Chubb was to get “younger and cheaper.”
Regarding Daniels, who missed the remainder of the 2025 season after injuring his pectoral muscle four snaps into the opener, durability was the main reason for his release.
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