The Miami Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa have not agreed to a contract extension, so could a trade be on the horizon? Listen, with each passing day, the likelihood that the Dolphins could trade Tua Tagovailoa has to go up, right? It might not seem likely now, but with the amount of major QB trades the league has seen in the last several seasons, it has to be considered.
The Miami Dolphins could get quite the haul back for their QB, who has never finished his four seasons in the NFL with a losing record, and has been one of the most prolific passers in the NFL over the last two seasons. Let's not pretend that "Touchdown Tua" is some scrub, because he's not.
Let's look at the three most ideal trade destinations for Tua Tagovailoa heading into the 2024 NFL Season.
2024 NFL Season: 3 ideal trade destinations for Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
Carolina Panthers
This could be an interesting move. The regime that drafted Bryce Young first overall in the 2023 NFL Draft is no longer running the show, so new head coach Dave Canales and new general manager Dan Morgan don't have any sort of connection to young, besides him being the QB1. And while 2023 was far from Young's fault, he didn't exactly show a ton of good, either.
And if Canales and the rest of his staff do not think he could make a jump in year two, why wait around? Sure, like I previously mentioned, Tua Tagovailoa being traded is perhaps very unlikely, but with each passing day he does not have a new deal, it has to be looked at as being a possibility.
The Carolina Panthers would get a franchise QB, and the Miami Dolphins would get a young passer back that would be surrounded by an incredible situation on offense.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders missed out on all six first-round QBs in the 2024 NFL Draft, so now they seem poised to head into the 2024 NFL Season with either Gardner Minshew or Aidan O'Connell as the starting QB. That, folks, is not ideal. The Raiders desperately need a franchise passer, so Tua Tagovailoa could be the solution.
And as outrageous as it may sound, Aidan O'Connell did some good things during his rookie season, so he can't be discounted, but I would think that the Raiders would pursue an upgrade like this if the price was right. Tagovailoa would be throwing to Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Brock Bowers, and Michael Mayer on offense, so there would be plenty of mouths to feed.
New York Giants
The New York Giants may have had the worst offseason of any team. With the sixth overall pick and still multiple first-round QBs left on the board, the Giants opted to take the second-best WR in the class in Malik Nabers. It was a masterclass on how to not build a football team from GM Joe Schoen, who has made his bed for 2024.
Either Daniel Jones or Drew Lock will be the starting QB, unless the Giants and Miami Dolphins could pull of an insane trade for Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins would be able to ship him out of the AFC, which I am sure they hope to do in any event of a trade, and the Giants would finally be bringing in a viable quarterback for the future.
And I would guess that Schoen is nearing his last straw with this team, and might only have next offseason left to find a franchise quarterback.