But haggling over $10 to $20 million in guaranteed money is a bad look for an organization that has pledged to bend the knee and proposed for months.

The final question: What will Tagovailoa and his camp do if he doesn’t get an acceptable offer?

Could Tagovailoa be a camp holdout in this climate where players are heavily fined for taking contractual stands? That’s unlikely, but Tagovailoa limited his offseason participation to 7-on-7 work only this summer, and it’s possible he could do the same in training camp, and the preseason if a deal doesn’t get done. Miami can’t fine him for taking that stance, or sitting out the work entirely like Christian Wilkins did last year this time.

Will Tagovailoa play 2024 on the fifth-year option, and take out an insurance policy assuming the injury risks? Possibly, but that wouldn’t be ideal, and it would also send an unhealthy message to the quarterback, and the rest of the team, especially since these Dolphins don’t have a reputation of taking care of their own.

The offers made this next month could have a lasting impact on this franchise’s future, and it’s culture, one that could potentially stifle the offense’s progress, and soil relationships, which wouldn’t be ideal for anyone.

From my standpoint, that’s not on Tagovailoa. He has asked for a compromise, which would likely be more guaranteed money at a lower average per year rate.

This is proposal — literally and figuratively — in the franchise’s hands, and at this time Miami’s stall tactic makes it seem as if the Dolphins are getting cold feet.

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