Chris Grier completely drops the ball in negotiations between Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins

Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier is gambling with Stephen Ross’ money, and he’s putting his entire franchise at risk of slipping back into the depths of the AFC East. We can debate the merits of a contract extension with Tua Tagovailoa all we want, but the Dolphins can’t afford to start over from scratch to find someone to lead the franchise.

If Grier and the Dolphins believe Tagovailoa isn’t worth the amount he’s asking for, they need to ask themselves why. If they believe he’s not a top QB in the NFL, they should let him play in 2024 and then move on. If they believe he’s capable of doing that, there’s no reason not to pay him what he’s asking for — and an extra $5 million is nothing in the NFL these days.

When Trevor Lawerence got the Joe Burrow money, the bar was raised for Tagovailoa. It doesn’t matter if he has fewer yards, fewer playoff wins, or less of anything in comparison. The reality is that Grier waited and the market reset.

If he had signed a new contract last year, he would be paying a lot less now. If he had signed a contract soon after Jared Goff’s contract extension, the Jaguars would have looked like idiots. Instead, Grier waited so long and the contract negotiations became more complicated.

The Dolphins can technically franchise tag Tagovailoa before the 2025 season, but it would be concerning whether or not he misses training camp. The Dolphins could try to replace him, but let’s be honest. Like him or love him, Tagovailoa is dynamic and fits Mike McDaniel’s scheme.

Waiting until next season won’t help either side of the negotiations. If he plays as well or better than last year, it will cost Grier and Ross a lot more money. If he fails miserably, gets injured or suffers another concussion, the Dolphins will be back to square one without a quarterback. The Dolphins need to make a commitment here.

Tagovailoa may not be the best quarterback in Dolphins history, but he is the best quarterback they’ve had since Dan Marino left, and if anyone thinks Miami has better options through a trade or the free agent market, they haven’t spent much time looking at the available players. The Dolphins don’t draft well enough to think they can rush into a blockbuster trade to move up in the draft and get a top QB prospect, and any QB on the market is going to want to be paid like a franchise QB. Tagovailoa may not be perfect, but he’s perfectly fine with what Miami needs right now.

Grier needs to pick his battles better. I understand that he might not want to overpay for a quarterback who has a concussion history and only has one full season under his belt despite being in the league for three years prior, but at the same time, Grier is playing a game he can’t win. He threw the money at Byron Jones and Xavier Howard and gave guys like Terron Armstead terrible contracts while letting players like Christian Wilkins and Robert Hunt walk.

Tagovailoa can sit out if he wants, and there’s nothing Grier can do about it. Why? Because Grier has no plan B, and his QB knows it. The Dolphins will only go as far as Tagovailoa takes them, and with him off the field, Grier will have a lot of decisions to make in the future.