Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins have yet to agree on a contract extension this offseason as he enters the final season on his rookie deal, but that isn't currently keeping the star quarterback away from the team.
According to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, Tagovailoa "arrived for the start of Miami's organized team activities" on Monday.
Russini added that the two sides are "negotiating" on a new deal, but Tagovailoa had skipped most of the team's voluntary offseason workouts while those talks took place.
He always planned on being in attendance for OTAs, however.
"Just letting my agent deal with that and talk to the team about that," he told reporters last week regarding the contract negotiations. "For me, my focus is when OTAs come, go to OTAs, show up and be the best teammate I can be."
Tagovailoa will play the 2024 season on the $23.1 fifth-year option on his rookie contract. If the two sides don't agree on a new deal, he'd then be an unrestricted free agent next offseason, though the Dolphins would almost assuredly use the franchise tag to retain him rather than letting him test the market and potentially sign elsewhere.
After an injury-decimated 2022 season that called into question his future in the NFL, given the several concussions he suffered, the 26-year-old appeared in all 17 games last season, throwing for 4,624 yards, 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while completing 69.3 percent of his passes.
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He led Miami to an 11-6 record and the playoffs, though the team was eliminated in the Wild Card Round by the eventual champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Expectations remain high for a Dolphins team loaded with talent, especially on the offensive end. The first hurdle remains actually winning a playoff game, however, something the team hasn't done since the 2000 season.
The hope in Miami is that the Dolphins and Tagovailoa will eventually come to terms on a lucrative extension, leaving them plenty of time to end that drought in the years to come.
