Now Tagovailoa is fighting the narrative that he can’t win big games based on his body of work the past four seasons, and the Dolphins are likely using that narrative, along with his injury history, against him in their negotiations.

Question No. 2: Does Tagovailoa deserve a pace-setting contract like the deal Detroit just gave Jared Goff and Jacksonville gave Trevor Lawrence?

No!

Just because other teams handed comparable quarterbacks record-setting contracts doesn’t mean Miami has to do the same.

This discussion is comparable to what our parents used say during our adolescent years, which was “just because your friends jumped off a cliff/bridge, would you too?”

The Dolphins are right to stand their ground, not offering Tagovailoa a pace-setting contract just because he’s the next guy up.

They have him under contract on his fifth-year option, which will pay the 26-year-old just less than $23.2 million for this season. And they could retain him for another $43 million in 2025 by using the franchise tag.

Add that up and it means the starting point on what should be guaranteed to Tagovailoa is $66.2 million, plus another two years of his real salary based on the recent deal Miami gave receiver Jaylen Waddle, and how many years of salary his quarterback peers had guaranteed on their deals.

Let’s pretend he will earn something between $45 million and $50 million in average salary per year. Then that brings us to a basement offer of $156 million to $167 million in guaranteed money. What’s Miami’s motivation to sweeten an offer past that?

Exactly who are they bidding against? Nobody but themselves at this time.

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