Kelly: Dolphins made wrong decision regarding backup QB | Opinion
The Miami Dolphins have spent the majority of the 2025 season investing in rookies, and young players with the hope that playing time will speed up their development as NFL players.
Kenneth Grant, Jonah Savaiinaea, Jordan Phillips, Jason Marshall Jr. and Dante Trader Jr. were all week one rookie starters before injuries sidelined Marshall (hamstring). And despite their struggles at times, the Dolphins haven’t wavered from investing in those young players in this 2-6 start.
Quinn Ewers, the former University of Texas standout the Dolphins selected in the seventh-round, should be added to the list of young players the Dolphins pour into no matter what because his performance thus far has proven he’s on the same talent level as Zach Wilson, the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, whom Miami signed this offseason.
Outside of the $6 million Miami paid Wilson, who flamed out as a starter with the New York Jets in his first three seasons, the Dolphins don’t have a reason to invest more into the sixth year veteran than Ewers, who signed a four-year deal worth $4.3 million.
If the 2025 season is about investing in the future, why was Wilson named Tua Tagovailoa’s backup quarterback for the Falcons game? Why was he the quarterback that took the field in the fourth quarter to mop up the Sunday’s convincing win? Those were valuable snaps that could have helped Ewers.
What makes Ewers, who completed 5 of 8 passes, throwing for 53 yards in his fourth-quarter work against the Browns, different from Grant and Phillips, the rookie defensive tackles, who have been liabilities this season until Sunday.
Aren’t Grant and Phillips a major reason Miami entered Sunday’s game against the Falcons as the NFL’s worst run defense, allowing 5.2 yards per carry and 159.3 rushing yards per game, and now moved up to 28th, averaging 145 rushing yards?
Or Savaiinaea, whose seven game struggles as Miami’s starting left guard has him rated by ProFootballFocus.com as one of the NFL’s worst starting offensive guards, if not the worst (depends on the week).
The Dolphins haven’t abandoned their investment in Savaiinaea, who seemingly had a good game on Sunday, or shied away from giving rookie tailback Ollie Gordon Jr. the second-team reps, despite his dismal 3.1 yards per carry average.
Gordon rewarded the Dolphins with his best performance of the season against the Falcons, contributing 66 total yards and scoring his first receiving touchdown.
Miami hasn’t moved to play a veteran safety ahead of a healthy Trader, whose miss tackle in the final minute of Miami’s 29-27 fourth-quarter loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. They realize Trader is part of this franchise’s future.
So why is Ewers, who reportedly entered the 2025 draft despite getting $3-4 million offers to transfer to another college program, being treated differently from the rest of his rookie classmates?
If something significant does happen to Tagovailoa, who is nursing a thumb injury and was battling with an eye infection, the Dolphins shouldn’t be wasting any of its valuable quarterback snaps on Wilson, who has struggled with his accuracy and processing speed his entire career.
Wilson likely won’t be re-signed in 2026, unless it’s for the NFL minimum.
Seeing as how the future of South Florida’s NFL franchise - leadership, coaching staff and quarterback - is seemingly on unstable footing, doesn’t this franchise need to know what, and who Ewers is, and what the 22-year-old can potentially be.
Whether or not Ewers outshines Wilson running the scout team, which gets the defense ready for each week’s opponent, shouldn’t be what’s important.
Just like Grant, Phillips, Savaiinaea, Marshall, Trader and Gordon, the rookie’s growth and development should be paramount to everything else.
The San Francisco 49ers stumbled onto Brock Purdy, the last pick in the 2022 NFL draft, when he was an injury-replaced for Trey Lance, the third overall pick in the 2021 draft, and led the 49ers to eight straight wins before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 31-7 in the NFC Championship game.
The 49ers never looked back after seeing Purdy’s upside.
Nobody is claiming Ewers will be the next Purdy, or even close. But we’ll never find out what he can be if he isn’t treated like all the other rookies.
This story was originally published October 26, 2025 at 11:33 AM.
