Former Alabama Quarterback Released by Dolphins After Six Seasons in Miami

The Tua Tagovailoa era has come to an end in Miami, with the Dolphins announcing on Monday morning that they are releasing the former Crimson Tide signal caller with a post June 1 designation.

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"As I shared with Tua, I have great respect for the person and player he is," General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said in a statement. On behalf of the Miami Dolphins, I expressed our gratitude for his many contributions, both on the field and in the community during his six seasons in Miami."

Tagovailoa's tenure in Miami ends after Tua played in 78 games for the franchise, completing 68% of his passes for 18,166 yards and 120 touchdowns. He also added 473 yards and six scores on the ground during his six seasons. Tagovailoa's best season came in 2023, when he completed 69.3% of his passes for 4,624 yards and 29 touchdowns. In 2025, Tagovailoa started 14 games, throwing for 2,660 yards and 20 touchdowns to 15 interceptions before being benched for Quinn Ewers, the Dolphins' seventh-round draft pick from Texas in the 2025 NFL draft.

The Dolphins drafted Tagovailoa with the fifth-overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft out of Alabama. His career has been marred by injuries, with Tagovailoa starting a full season just once during his six-year career so far.

Tagovailoa was the first Alabama quarterback drafted in the first round of the NFL draft since Richard Todd in the 1976 NFL draft. His Alabama career was cut short due to injuries, but not before Tagovailoa writ his name in Crimson Flame during the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship, where the then-freshman came off the bench in the second half to replace starter Jalen Hurts, leading Alabama back from a 13-0 deficit against Georgia to win the Crimson Tide's 17th national championship with a touchdown pass to fellow freshman DeVonta Smith on 2nd and 26 in overtime.

During his freshman season, Tagovailoa threw for 636 yards and 11 touchdowns, largely in mop-up duty, with 133 rushing yards and two scores. He took over as the starter to begin the 2018 season, where he finished second in the Heisman Trophy race with 3,966 yards and 43 touchdowns through the air and 190 yards and five scores on the ground. During that 2018 season, Tagovailoa rarely played in the fourth quarter, as Alabama went 14-0 before falling to Clemson in the national championship.

He returned in 2019 on pace to break his own records set in 2018, but his final season in Tuscaloosa was marred by injury as well, suffering a high ankle sprain in Alabama's 35-13 victory over Tennessee. He returned for the Tide's "game of the century" against then-No. 2 LSU, where he passed for 418 yards and four scores, but Alabama fell 46-41 to the Tigers. The following week at Mississippi State, Tagovailoa suffered a dislocated hip and would miss the rest of the season, finishing 2019 with 2,840 yards and 33 touchdowns to just three interceptions in just nine games.

Despite the injuries, Tagovailoa was a four-time team captain with the Dolphins and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2023. He signed a four-year, $212.4 million contract with $167.1 fully guaranteed. With the Post-June 1 designation, the Dolphins will carry $67.4 million in dead cap. Even though the release is designated as post-June 1, Tagovailoa can sign with a new team once the league year starts on March 11.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.