New Contracts Coming for Tua Tagovailoa, Christian Wilkins?

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two key Miami Dolphins couldn’t even thaw out from their final three hours on a football field for the year when they had to answer questions about 2024.

Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins’ rookie contract expires when the league year turns over in March, while the clock has begun on a potential extension for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who will play on his fifth-year option if he doesn’t get a new deal before the start of the season.

Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa, Christian Wilkins Talk Contract

Wilkins had a career year in a contract year, recording personal bests in sacks (nine), quarterback hits (23), and fumble recoveries (two).

Tagovailoa, meanwhile, is a Pro Bowler for the first time after leading the NFL in passing (4,624). He also had a career-high 29 touchdown passes and averaged 8.3 yards per attempt.

The question isn’t so much whether the Dolphins want both Tagovailoa and Wilkins back in 2024 but at what price.

Franchising Wilkins would come with a $19.7 million salary cap number — which would be a challenge for a team that Spotrac currently projects will be $42.9 million over the cap. The Dolphins would surely prefer a long-term deal, but can they afford the $20 million or so annually he’s expected to fetch?

Wilkins postgame again said that he wants to return to the Dolphins.

“I definitely love this team, love this organization,” Wilkins said. “You know, this home. This is who drafted me. Things like that. So, you know, we’ll see what happens. I don’t want to make this about me. I just wanna, you know, focus on, you know, the season.

Wilkins added, “I feel like every time I stepped onto that field, I gave it my all. And that’s something I can hang my hat on. And, you know, you know, I took a lot of pride just playing for my teammates, playing for the organizations, playing for my brothers in the locker room.”

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As for Tagovailoa, the Dolphins shouldn’t feel compelled to extend him this offseason if the price is too high for their tastes, particularly after his performance in the team’s three-game losing streak to end the season.

(Tagovailoa completed 56.7%, averaged 5.9 yards per attempt, and had a 66.5 passer rating in losses to the Ravens, Bills, and Chiefs.)

Spotrac’s market estimation of a Tagovailoa extension comes in near the top of the market: Six years, $302.8 million, with a $50.4 million AAV that would be the fifth-highest among all NFL players.

What rationale is there at this point to pay him that this offseason, since the Dolphins functionally control his rights for the next three seasons (the fifth-year option with two franchise years)?

When asked late Saturday if there’s more pressure on him entering a contract year, Tagovailoa replied:

“I don’t feel any pressure at all. I have full trust in myself. I have full trust in what I’m capable of doing for our organization. But outside of that, we’re focusing on tonight and what happened. We’re gonna simmer on this and see what we can do to get better from it.”

Tua added the following when asked if his expectation is that something gets done this offseason:

“I’m not worried about that right now. Right now, this is a moment for the guys in that locker room and our team to just be with one another, to soak in this and learn from it.”

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