Miami Dolphins Tagovailoa was projected to be taken
first overall in the
2020 NFL draft until his season-ending injury led to
LSU quarterback and 2019
Heisman Trophy winner
Joe Burrow supplanting him as the draft's top prospect. Despite injury concerns, however, Tagovailoa was selected fifth overall by the
Miami Dolphins. Tagovailoa was also the first
left-handed quarterback to be drafted by an NFL team since
Tim Tebow in 2010. Because his college jersey number of 13 was retired by the Dolphins in honor of
Dan Marino, Tagovailoa chose to wear number 1.
2020 season Tagovailoa signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $30 million, on May 11, 2020. He passed his physical with the team in July 2020 to begin
training camp, but was named the backup to
Ryan Fitzpatrick to start the season. Tagovailoa made his debut appearance in a Week 6 game against the
New York Jets, coming in relief of Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter of a 24–0 win where he threw two passes for nine yards. His NFL appearance was the first for a left-handed quarterback since
Kellen Moore in 2015. During the team's bye week, Tagovailoa was named the starter for their Week 8 game against the
Los Angeles Rams. On Tagovailoa's first career pass attempt as a starter, he was strip-sacked by
Aaron Donald. Later in the game, Tagovailoa recorded his first career touchdown on a pass thrown to
DeVante Parker. In Week 11 against the
Denver Broncos, Tagovailoa threw for 83 yards and a touchdown before being replaced by Fitzpatrick early in the fourth quarter with the Broncos leading 20–10. Tagovailoa jammed his thumb in practice prior to a Week 12 game against the Jets and missed the game. He made his return in Week 13 against the
Cincinnati Bengals, where he threw for 296 yards and a touchdown during a 19–7 win. In Week 14 during a narrow 33–27 defeat against the
Kansas City Chiefs, Tagovailoa eclipsed the 300 passing yard mark in the NFL for the first time by passing for 316 yards and two touchdowns, plus with an additional rushing touchdown. His performance earned him
Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week honors for back-to-back weeks. In Week 16 against the
Las Vegas Raiders, Tagovailoa threw for 94 yards and a touchdown before being benched in favor of Fitzpatrick again in the fourth quarter. In Week 17 against the
Buffalo Bills, needing a win for the Dolphins to qualify for the playoffs, Tagovailoa threw for a career-high 361 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions as Miami lost 56–26. The Dolphins missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year, and for the 17th time in the 21 seasons since the retirement of Dan Marino.
2021 season Tagovailoa led the Dolphins to a Week 1 win over the
New England Patriots, their divisional rivals. During Week 2 against the Bills, Tagovailoa suffered a rib injury early in the game, and was carted off the field on a motorized stretcher, not returning in that game. Tagovailoa was later ruled out for the Dolphins Week 3 matchup against the Raiders, as it was revealed that he had fractured several ribs. He was then placed on injured reserve on September 25, 2021, and returned from injury in Week 6 against the
Jacksonville Jaguars in London. In his first game in nearly a month, Tagovailoa completed 33 of 47 passes for 329 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a 23–20 loss to the Jaguars, dropping the Dolphins' record to 1–5. The Dolphins lost two additional games to the
Atlanta Falcons and Bills to drop their record to 1–7. The following week, Tagovailoa missed the Dolphins' Week 9 game against the
Houston Texans, as the Dolphins won 17–9. In their next game against the
Baltimore Ravens, Tagovailoa came off the bench to energize the Dolphins, completing 8 of 13 passes for 158 yards and a rushing touchdown, resulting in an upset 22–10 victory. Tagovailoa used the win to catapult a turnaround in his and his team's fortunes. The following week set the tone for the rest of the season, as he completed 27 of 33 passes for 273 yards, two touchdowns and an interception as the Dolphins beat the Jets 24–17. He led the team to its first seven-game winning streak since
1985. During their 20–9 victory over the
New York Giants in Week 13, he became the first Dolphins quarterback since Dan Marino in
1994 to throw at least 21 completions in the first half of a game. In Week 17 against the
Tennessee Titans, Tagovailoa and the Dolphins were blown out 34–3. Following their loss, and with the
Los Angeles Chargers defeating the Broncos, the Dolphins were eliminated from playoff contention for the fifth consecutive year, and 18th time in 20 seasons. In the final game of the 2021 season, Tagovailoa led the Dolphins to their first sweep of the rival Patriots since
2000, making him 3–0 against
Bill Belichick and the Patriots in his career. He finished the 2021 season with 2,653 passing yards, 16 passing touchdowns, and ten interceptions to go along with 42 carries for 128 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in 13 games.
2022 season During the offseason previous to the 2022 season, the Miami Dolphins fired head coach
Brian Flores, arguing internal communication issues. A few weeks later, several sources confirmed differences between Tagovailoa and Flores with rumors of heavy discussions between them. The Dolphins hired
Mike McDaniel as their head coach on February 6, 2022, who expressed unbridled support for Tagovailoa as his starting quarterback. Tagovailoa began his third season by throwing for 270 yards and a touchdown in a 20–7 win over the Patriots, improving to 4–0 against
Bill Belichick and the Patriots. The next week against the Ravens, Tagovailoa threw for a career-high 469 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions in the
42–38 comeback win. The 21-point comeback was the first fourth-quarter comeback of 21+ points in 12 years. Prior to the game, teams were 0–711 when trailing by at least 21 points in the fourth quarter since 2011. His six-touchdown performance also tied the Dolphins franchise record, tying Hall of Famers
Bob Griese and Dan Marino, and his 469 passing yards ranks fourth in franchise history. As a result of his historic performance, Tagovailoa was named
American Football Conference (AFC) Offensive Player of the Week for Week 2. During Week 3 against the Bills, Tagovailoa briefly left the game with what the Dolphins claimed was a back injury but eventually returned to the game, finishing with 186 passing yards and a touchdown as the Dolphins won 21–19. After the game, the
NFLPA suspected that the Dolphins might have violated concussion protocols by letting Tagovailoa back in the game and subsequently announced that an investigation would be launched. After being a game-time decision for Week 4, Tagovailoa was cleared to start against the Bengals. After taking a sack by Bengals
nose tackle Josh Tupou during the second quarter, Tagovailoa hit the ground with his left elbow, back and back of his helmet. Tagovailoa demonstrated a
fencing response and was stretchered off the field and transported to the
University of Cincinnati Medical Center with head and neck injuries. He was discharged from the hospital later that night. Two days later, the NFL players' union fired their independent neurotrauma consultant who was involved in Tagovailoa's concussion check during the Bills game. Tagovailoa's suspected concussion resulted in the NFL and NFLPA revising its concussion protocol policy. Tagovailoa returned to practice on October 12, but remained in concussion protocol. On October 15, Tagovailoa cleared concussion protocol, but remained inactive for the Week 6 game against the
Minnesota Vikings. Tagovailoa returned in Week 7 against the
Pittsburgh Steelers, where he threw for 261 yards and a touchdown in the 16–10 win. The next week against the
Detroit Lions, Tagovailoa threw for 382 yards and three touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes in the 31–27 win. On December 21, despite topping the overall fan votes (306,861) for the
2023 Pro Bowl, Tagovailoa was not selected to the Pro Bowl. Against the
Green Bay Packers on
Christmas Day, Tagovailoa threw for 310 yards, and a touchdown, but threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter, including the game-losing one to
Rasul Douglas in the 26–20 loss. The next day, it was announced that Tagovailoa had entered concussion protocol after he was experiencing concussion symptoms he suffered in the game. On December 28, McDaniel confirmed Tagovailoa suffered a concussion and was ruled out for the Dolphins Week 17 game against the Patriots, and then also ruled out for the season finale against the Jets. On January 9, the Dolphins clinched the AFC's final playoff berth, and their first since
2016. On January 11, McDaniel said that Tagovailoa had not been cleared to return to practice since he entered concussion protocol a second time, and was ruled out for his third consecutive game. Tagovailoa finished the regular season throwing for 3,548 yards, 25 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, going 8–5 in 13 games played. Tagovailoa also led the league in passer rating and passing average. He was ranked 82nd by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2023.
2023 season On March 20, 2023, the Dolphins picked up the fifth-year option of Tagovailoa's contract. In his first news conference since December 2022, Tagovailoa said that he considered retirement in the off-season due to his injuries in the 2022 season. Tagovailoa began his fourth season by throwing for 466 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception as the Dolphins won 36–34 against the Chargers. For his performance, Tagovailoa was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 1. In Week 2, Tagovailoa threw for 249 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in the Dolphins' 24–17 win against the Patriots. During Week 3 against the Broncos, Tagovailoa finished with 309 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. The Dolphins also combined for 350 rushing yards and won 70–20. Tagovailoa's exceptional play in these games earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September. On January 3, 2024, it was announced that Tagovailoa had been selected for his first Pro Bowl appearance. He was named as the starting quarterback of the AFC roster. Tagovailoa finished the season with a league-leading 4,624 passing yards, becoming the first Dolphins quarterback to lead the league in passing yards since
Dan Marino in 1992. Tagovailoa also generated career-highs in passing touchdowns (29), completions (388), and completion percentage (69.3%) in his fourth NFL season. In addition, he started every game in 2023 while staying healthy throughout the season, a career first. Tagovailoa made his playoff debut against the Chiefs in the
Wild Card round, throwing for 199 yards with one touchdown and one interception in a 26–7 loss. He was ranked 36th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2024. at
Miami Dolphins training camp in July 2025
2024 season On July 26, 2024, Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension, including a $42,000,000 signing bonus, $167,171,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $53,100,000 with the Dolphins. Tagovailoa opened the season against the
Jacksonville Jaguars, throwing for 336 yards and leading a game-winning field goal drive. During
Thursday Night Football on September 12, Tagovailoa suffered another concussion against the Bills after leading with his helmet into contact with safety
Damar Hamlin following a scramble. The Dolphins later placed him on injured reserve following what became his third diagnosed concussion in two years, requiring him to miss at least four games, in order to give him ample time to progress through the NFL's concussion protocol while meeting with independent neurologists. On October 27, Tagovailoa made his return in Week 8 against the
Arizona Cardinals, completing 28-of-38 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown as the Dolphins lost on a walk-off field goal, dropping their record to 2–5. The following week against the Bills, Tagovailoa completed a career-best 89.3% of his passes (25-of-28) and led a game-tying touchdown drive with under two minutes left, but the Dolphins lost on another last-second field goal. Tagovailoa helped snap a three-game losing streak with timely third-down throws, going 9-of-12 for 137 yards on third down in a 23–15 win over the
Los Angeles Rams. He continued his efficient play against the Raiders and Patriots, completing over 70% of his passes for 605 yards, seven touchdowns, and no interceptions across the two games as Miami improved to 5–6. From weeks 12–14, Tagovailoa became the first QB to attempt 40 or more passes, throw multiple touchdowns, pass for more than 300 yards, and record zero interceptions across three games in the same season. This stretch included a game-winning touchdown pass in overtime against the
New York Jets. He joined Dan Marino as the only Dolphins quarterback with a 300-yard performance in three consecutive games. On December 22, Tagovailoa threw his 100th career touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill in a 29–17 win against the San Francisco 49ers. He was ranked 91st by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2025. He missed the season's final two games. He finished the 2024 season with 2,867 yards, 19 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 11 games.
2025 season In the season opener against the
Indianapolis Colts, Tagovailoa struggled in the game, throwing for just 114 yards and a touchdown while also committing three turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble) in the 8−33 loss. In Week 8 against the Falcons, he passed for four touchdowns in the 34–10 victory. In the October 12 home game against the
Los Angeles Chargers, he threw three interceptions. In the next game on October 19 at
Cleveland, he also threw three interceptions. In those two games, he threw only one touchdown pass and had a total of 305 passing yards. On December 17, 2025, Dolphins head coach
Mike McDaniel announced that Tagovailoa would be benched for the Week 16 game against the
Cincinnati Bengals after the Dolphins had been eliminated from playoff contention following a Week 15 loss to the
Pittsburgh Steelers on
Monday Night Football, being replaced by rookie
Quinn Ewers. At the time of his benching, Tagovailoa was tied with
Geno Smith interceptions thrown with 15. On the season, Tagovailoa passed for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions, compiling a starting record of six wins and eight losses.
Atlanta Falcons On March 13, 2026, Tagovailoa signed a one-year contract with the
Atlanta Falcons. ==Career statistics==