Tua Tagovailoa's 2022 season was enough to convince the Dolphins they'd like to have him around for the next two seasons.
Miami has informed Tagovailoa they're picking up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo reported on Friday.
As is standard with all first-round picks, the fifth-year option carries a significantly larger cap number than the usual rookie rate in the first four years of a deal. Tagovailoa's option means he'll be guaranteed $23.2 million for the 2024 season, a significant jump from the $9.6 million he'll account for in 2023, and a statement that the franchise has confidence Tagovailoa will be its quarterback for the long haul.
Tagovailoa's 2022 season has been well documented, for better or worse. In his first season with Tyreek Hill and under the direction of rookie head coach Mike McDaniel, Tagovailoa flourished, leading the league in passer rating for a good portion of the campaign and helping Miami to a sixth-place finish in total yards per game and fourth in passing.
This type of statistical output (and the wins that followed) would make such a decision easy for the Dolphins, but injury concerns remain. Tagovailoa -- a player who hasn't played a full season in his three-year career -- suffered two concussions during the 2022 season, and the latter ended his campaign prematurely. Just as the Dolphins appeared to be reaching cruising altitude, the injury bug interrupted their fun, leading to a loss to the Buffalo Bills on Super Wild Card Weekend with rookie Skylar Thompson filling in for Tagovailoa.
For a stretch of time, there was genuine concern whether Tagovailoa might play football again. Those worries have since subsided, but Tagovailoa's track record doesn't necessarily inspire full confidence he's worth a long-term investment -- at least not yet.
To Tagovailoa's credit, he's putting in the effort to avoid injury, spending this offseason learning jiu-jitsu techniques to improve his ability to avoid injury when falling. It might sound extreme, but that's how important staying on the field is to Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa's 2022 story can't be told without mentioning his decrease in production in the latter stages of the campaign, in which defenses appeared to figure out how to contain the Dolphins' high-powered attack, limiting Miami to 21 or fewer points in three of their final four losses with Tagovailoa on the field.
First and foremost, though, Tagovailoa has to get right before he can resume his pursuit of a title with the Dolphins. He's spending the offseason doing so, and after Friday's news, he'll have at least the next two seasons to attempt to accomplish the ultimate goal in Miami.
