Tyreek: Tua should be among NFL’s highest-paid QBs

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill backed Tua Tagovailoa as the quarterback continues to negotiate a contract extension with the team.

“For people to sit here and try to discredit Tua and say he’s not deserving of a contract is wild to me,” Hill said Friday on SportsCenter. “A lot of guys on the team understand his value and understand that we need him, we need his leadership. We need the mindset that he brings into each and every week. … I feel like he should be one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league.”

Tagovailoa is entering the last year of his rookie contract and has been negotiating a new deal for months. As of late June, Miami reportedly hadn’t offered its Pro Bowl signal-caller a market-value deal in the same ballpark as Jared Goff and Trevor Lawrence.

The Jacksonville Jaguars inked Lawrence to a record five-year, $275-million deal earlier in June, while the Detroit Lions gave Goff a four-year contract worth $212 million in May.

Injuries prevented Tagovailoa from playing a full campaign through his first three NFL seasons after the Dolphins drafted him fifth overall in 2020. However, the 26-year-old appeared in all 17 games in 2023 and led the league with 4,624 passing yards. The Alabama product also set career highs with 29 touchdown passes and a 69.3% completion rate.

“From Tua’s development and where he’s come from to where he is now, that should speak volumes to a lot of people,” Hill said. “A lot of people can say, ‘Oh, he has coach (Mike) McDaniel calling plays. Oh, he has XYZ receivers,’ or ‘He’s got all these playmakers.’ But at the end of the day, you still got to get those playmakers the ball. … There’s a lot that goes into it.”

The 2024 offseason was also lucrative for wide receivers, as several pass-catchers signed deals that reset the market at the position.

Hill is looking for his own pay bump amid the rising market. The eight-time Pro Bowler said he hopes the Dolphins “save some room” for him after rewarding Tagovailoa.