Could The Tennessee Titans "Buy a Draft Pick" from the Miami Dolphins?

Over the last day and a half, there has been an idea floating around X (formerly Twitter) that has been a topic of discussion.

Originally tweeted out by @MattHarmon_BYB on X, this post highlighted the idea to "buy a draft pick" from the Miami Dolphins.

Essentially, this deal would bring both Tua Tagovailoa and a high draft pick (probably in the 2nd round) to the Tennessee Titans and would require the Titans to send something small in return, likely a late round draft pick.

This is termed "buying a pick" because the Titans would take on Tagovailoa's massive contract that includes a $56.3 million cap hit in 2026. This allows Miami to get off of Tua's contract without incurring the large dead cap penalty. This is why they would have to give up a high draft pick to accomplish this; the Titans would be taking on a player that would take up close to 57% of their available cap space this offseason.

This is in the Titans favor because they realistically are not spending all of their $99 million cap space that will only get larger when they start to release players. They get a free top 100 draft pick to help build their team, and only have to use some of their cap space.

Via PFF

Tagovailoa would likely serve as the backup to Cam Ward for a season, before being released prior to the 2027 season where he has an out that would only $34.8 million in dead cap.

We have already seen the Dolphins struggling with cap space, as they released both Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb on monday. If they choose to move on from Tua at quarterback this would be a great way.

Another thing to consider is, if this does end up happening, Will Levis could be involved. There is a good chance of him getting a change of scenary this offseason and the Dolphins may bring him in to compete for the starting job. Levis has a 2-0 career against the Dolphins.

While this is rare in the NFL, it has happened. In 2017, the Houston Texans traded Brock Osweiler and a 2nd round pick to the Browns for a 4th in order to dump a $16 million guaranteed contract.

Realistically, this probably will not happen. The Dolphins likely don't want to lose draft capital if they have to rebuild and the Titans likely don't want to have to absorb such a large cap hit, but it is something to think about and consider as it is not out of the question.