Dolphins' QB Tua Tagovailoa expects to sign extension this offseason

Quarterback (QB) Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins told reporters on Friday that he expects to sign a contract extension with the team during this offseason.

Tagovailoa, 25, finished his fourth National Football League (NFL) season as the passing yards leader at 4,624 yards with 29 touchdowns, both career highs. He was also selected into the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career.

"There's been communication," Tagovailoa said to ESPN. "I think the thing with that right now is I'm just letting the team talk to my agent and let them work that out." He told Pro Football Network that he believes he will ink a new deal before his rookie contract, which enters the final year, expires.

The 2023 campaign was the first complete season Tagovailoa has finished since the Dolphins drafted him with the fifth pick in 2020. The team won 11 of their 17 games this season, but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the American Football Conference Wild Card Game.

"The goal is to have him here long term playing at a high level," the Dolpjins' general manager Chris Grier said. "That's always the goal, and we'll continue to communicate with him through the offseason here. Like we've always said in the past, you guys know me, we don't really talk in the media through all that stuff, so we'll just keep all those talks internal and with his reps."

For reference, the Baltimore Ravens signed a five-year, $260 million extension, including $185 million guaranteed with their QB Lamar Jackson in April 2023. Jalen Hurts agreed to a five-year, $255 million deal, including $110 million fully guaranteed with the Philadelphia Eagles in the same month.

The Dolphins are currently $51 million over the NFL salary cap and they have multiple free agents and veterans to negotiate extensions with, including defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, guard Robert Hunt, linebacker Jerome Baker, cornerback Xavien Howard and offensive tackle Terron Armstead.

"We're not really, right now, concerned about where we'll be in March, salary cap-wise," Grier said. "I think [senior VP of football and business administration] Brandon Shore and [director of football administration and strategy] Max Napolitano, we've had a lot of conversations. They've given us a lot of flexibility with multiple options of ways we can be creative, and so hats off to them just through their work and grind on things."