Has Chris Grier Fumbled the Tua contract extension?
What is taking so long? And the longer this goes, the more expensive this gets for Miami.
Do they want to keep Tua or not? And if the answer is YES, as we all think it is and has been since the beginning, how is this not ironed out now?
I know structuring a contract that guarantees over $150+ million for a player takes time and involves many moving parts.
But Miami played its last game on Jan 13, 2024. How much time does it take?
I know there was free agency and the draft, which diverts the attention of an NFL front office, but are we not able as an organization to walk and chew gum at the same time?
The draft was the last week of April; we are now mid-June. Why is there still nothing on Tua’s contract extension?
Detroit figured out a way to get their quarterback locked up long-term.
Jacksonville, with their crazy pro wrestling owners, took five minutes away from chair shots to the head and piledrivers and figured out a way to get it done with their quarterback.
How is Miami behind the curve on this?
A few weeks back, all Dolphins fans were happy that Miami had secured a long-term extension for Jaylen Waddle. This was great news, as he is a fantastic player.
There is another side to this, though. How come it took Amon-Ra St. Brown, Devonta Smith, and Nico Collins to all get deals first before Miami did anything with Waddle, which ultimately cost Grier more money to lock up Waddle?
Could we not have locked up Waddle in February or March? Maybe we should start the run on wide receiver extensions or be at the start of it instead of the tail end of it. So maybe you can save a few bucks on the deal, which you can then spend elsewhere.
And I know the portion of Dolphins fans who are just “apologists” and will shout down anyone who even has a little criticism for the team, who will balk at me, even asking this question if Grier has fumbled the entire situation. And they will say, “Well, the player has to want to sign the deal,” and then blame the player.
So, Miami is so unlucky that all of these long-term extensions take longer because the players we happen to draft don’t want money and millions upon millions of dollars? It’s only a Miami thing; we are just so unlucky.
STOP! STOP! It sounds foolish.
The entire situation with Christian Wilkins was not that Miami was unwilling to pay him $27 million per season this past March; of course, that is too much for what he brings to the table. The REAL debate was whether Miami even made an effort (a serious effort) in the 2022 and 2023 offseasons to lock up Wilkins before he priced himself out of Miami by having a career year this past season.
Did they? Because looking at Grier’s track record at how these extensions go I’m gonna bet $1 on no he didn’t. Because that’s what is track record shows.
Is Chris Grier showing the players the love? And more importantly the money that is fair market value.
And unless Tua and his agent are asking for some pie-in-the-sky unrealistic figure (which I doubt as they are smart people), it is hard to blame Tua for all of this.
At OTAs last week when Tua said, “I’ll tell you one thing, the market is the market,” he hit the nail on the head. He is 100% correct.
Whether you are a fan of Tua or think Miami can do better, that single statement is spot-on and accurate.
Tua didn’t create the market.
Tua’s agent didn’t create the market.
The market is the market.
And now Trevor Lawrence signing a 5-year, $275 million contract with $200 guaranteed. THAT IS THE MARKET!
Last month, the market was Jared Goff’s 4-year, $212 million with $170 guaranteed.
Snooze, you lose, and Chris Grier lost because he waited too long, which will cost him more. Not just more money, which hurts Miami’s salary cap, but that extra money it will cost him may prevent him from giving an extension to Jevon Holland or Jaelan Phillips now.
The ripple effect is real.
Now it’s a rat race to see which team can give their young, promising quarterback an extension first: Green Bay with Jordan Love or Miami with Tua.
Whoever wins that race will save a few million; whoever comes in second will have to overpay by a few million.
Because that’s how the NFL works.
We will see how this plays out, but as a Dolphins fan, I think we can already say this whole process of giving Tua a long-term extension has been fumbled even if they get a deal done five minutes after I drop this article and make it live.
Then again, maybe this is like when Chris Grier told reporters they are more concerned about the offensive line than he is. I guess in his world, Dolphins fans and media members questioning why this is taking so long are more worried about it than he is.
Apparently, in his eyes, everyone should have blind faith in an organization that hasn’t won a playoff game in 24 years and never question anything.
I think that Grier what’s knows that he drafted a dud and that tua is a product of the system and not an actual franchise Quarterback. I think that they are going to let him play out the fifth year of his contact and franchise him if need be. The flaw in this is that Grier has done a terrible job in managing and drafting and that he has refused to draft another quarterback because Tua is so mentally fragile and can’t handle competition. Another thing that I think it is virtually impossible that Tua will go 2 years in a row without getting injured. The schedule is very tough and it’s a well-known fact that Tua cannot win in cold weather and struggles against winning teams.
Pay the man. The longer you take to do it, it will cost more. For those who say no to this give me a better solution that keeps the DFolphins winning now and for the next five years.