Well, another week in the NFL offseason, and another quarterback gets a new big contract.

The Jacksonville Jaguars gave Trevor Lawrence a new 5-year deal worth $275 million with $200 guaranteed. This comes a couple of weeks after the Detroit Lions gave their quarterback Jared Goff a new 4-year deal and got over $175 million in guaranteed money.

Earlier this offseason, the Atlanta Falcons gave Kirk Cousins a four-year contract worth $180 million and many guarantees. 

The biggest question this off-season for the Miami Dolphins is whether they will get a new deal for their quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa.

I tend to say they will get a deal done, but now I’m not sure.

I wrote after the season that the Dolphins should let Tua play out the fifth-year option on his deal and not give him an extension, and I stand by that. Tagovailoa is a good quarterback, but one of the reasons the Dolphins choked down the stretch was that Tagovailoa didn’t play well in big games.

I know the Dolphins had injuries, but that’s a lazy cop-out excuse. Tua played a full season for the first time in his football career, and with the injuries at other positions, he had a chance to raise his level of play and get the team a division title and their first playoff win in over 20 years. He came up way short.

In December, you want to see your quarterback come up with big in-game situations, elevate their team in the postseason, and make a deep run, but Tagovailoa hasn’t proven that yet. If the Dolphins are going to pay top dollar for a quarterback, they should be getting a good return on their investment if they give him a new deal, and I haven’t seen it. 

In my opinion, Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in football. He has won three of the last four Super Bowls, including the last two, by elevating his play with less talent on offense. When the Kansas City Chiefs traded Mahomes’ best offensive weapon, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, to the Dolphins, some thought Mahomes would be as good a quarterback without him.

He might not have the numbers, but he is a much better quarterback than before trading Hill away. Mahomes has found different ways to win games and elevate his play in the postseason. That’s the type of quarterback you pay top dollar for, and they are hard to find. 

Now, Tua wants to get paid, and I get that. He also sees the market at his position with players getting guaranteed money that we haven’t seen, and it is only going to get higher, most likely. He wants to get paid in that area of $200 million guaranteed or more. That’s where the line should be drawn.

Dolphins General Manager Chris Grier is in a tough spot because he wants to sign him, but I don’t think he wants to pay Tagovailoa that high in guarantees.

He also wants to protect his team down the road with the salary cap, as the Dolphins are already tight against the cap next year. Still, quarterbacks that get paid take up at least one-third of the team’s salary cap, and you have to find a way to the way players at other positions most likely won’t be able to pay as much.

Grier is probably looking for a compromise, maybe even some incentives for Tagovailoa to reach potential earnings. 

Some wonder how Tagovailoa would be if he went to training camp without a new deal.

Will he be mad?

Pissed?

Motivated?

If he’s all the above, then I say go into camp and use it as motivation and anger to play your best football to show you deserve a new deal like his peers have gotten. Tagovailoa can look at a situation that worked out for another quarterback years ago.

In 2012, the Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Joe Flacco didn’t come to terms on a new extension, so Flacco played out the final year of his deal. The Ravens made the playoffs, Flacco elevated his play, and the Ravens won the Super Bowl and MVP.

The Ravens rewarded him with a new contract. Flacco never lived up to the contract, but that’s not the point. He earned the deal by raising his play and winning a Super Bowl. If that happens with Tagovailoa, all the power is given to him. That is the route I would go. 

The quarterback market has gotten so out of control, and at some point, someone is going to put their foot down on a huge contract for the most important position.

However, I don’t see that happening. Grier must tread carefully with the Tagovailoa contract. Both sides want a new contract, but there must be a compromise somewhere. With players wanting to get paid, I’m not sure Tagovailoa will do that.Â