Miami Dolphins bench Tua Tagovailoa, turn to rookie Quinn Ewers as starter
The Dolphins are benching Tua Tagovailoa and handing their starting quarterback job to rookie Quinn Ewers, a move that raises serious questions about Tagovailoa’s future with the franchise just 17 months after he signed a four-year, $212 million extension.
Coach Mike McDaniel said Ewers will start Sunday against visiting Cincinnati (1 p.m., CBS 4) and that Tagovailoa will be the No. 3 emergency quarterback, behind Ewers and Zach Wilson, who will remain the No. 2 quarterback.
Mike McDaniel said he opted for Ewers because “Quinn gives this team the best chance to win... He has a natural disposition of confidence, not cockiness. If you saw his face on draft day, he’s a competitor that believes in himself. He was very excited for the [starting] opportunity, very excited for what that means. He left my office and went to work.”
Asked why Ewers gives the Dolphins a better chance to win than Tagovailoa does, McDaniel said: “I’m looking for conviction in quarterback play. I felt he would play the position most convicted, which impacts every player on the field. I needed more convicted play at the quarterback position.”
Tagovailoa said Wednesday that he’s “disappointed” about being benched and is unsure about his future with the team.
“I’m not happy about it,” Tagovailoa said at his locker. “Outside of that, I’ve got to do my part. My road here right now is to help whoever the quarterback is going to be for this team.”
Tagovailoa threw for just 65 yards in three quarters during Monday’s 28-15 loss to Pittsburgh and entered the fourth quarter with a passer rating below 50, the fifth time that has happened this season.
He padded his stats with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, after the Dolphins’ deficit had grown to 28-3, and finished the game with 253 passing yards and a misleading 113.2 passer rating.
‘Not good enough’
Tagovailoa has thrown a league-high 15 interceptions (compared with 20 touchdown passes) and his QBR in 30th in the league. He has won only three of his last 15 starts against teams with winning records, and Miami has failed to score more than 17 points in seven of those games.
McDaniel said owner Stephen Ross had no role in the decision to bench Tagovailoa or replace him with the Texas rookie.
McDaniel declined to discuss whether Tagovailoa has a future with the team in 2026, saying he wants to focus on 2025. McDaniel typically answers any 2026 questions that way. The Dolphins owe Tagovailoa $54 million guaranteed for next season, whether he’s on the team or not.
Falling from first to third on the depth chart “wasn’t easy for him to hear,” McDaniel said. “It was a tough conversation, but he exhibited what made him a captain and leader on this team.”
Ewers said recently that he appreciated the chance to serve as the No. 2 quarterback a single time this season; he completed five of eight passes for 53 yards in that game against the Browns.
“I think it’s a good thing that Mike did,” quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell said of that one week this season when Ewers was No. 2 and Zach Wilson was No. 3 on the depth chart.
“It keeps you on your toes. It keeps you competing. It makes you feel like the things that you’re doing are valid and are worthwhile and you’re not going through the motions and doesn’t let you get complacent. So I think it was a good shakeup.”
Where is he a better quarterback today than when he arrived? “Anticipation,” Ewers said. What does Bevell stress with him?
“It’s such a timing offense we play in,” Ewers said. “I’m continuing to work hard on my footwork for every play. There are a lot of different setups, different footwork for each play.”
Bevell said two weeks ago that “Quinn’s doing a really good job. He’s working every day to get better, one, within our offense and then he’s getting reps on the scout team. We kind of switch up with [backup] Zach [Wilson] and Quinn for the reps on the scout team.
“Both those guys are doing a great job. There’s good competition between them. At the end of the week, I sit down and watch Quinn’s reps that he’s had and make sure that he’s getting coached, that it’s not just he’s taking these plays, and we’re never watching them again.”
Ewers waits his turn
Ewers, who has been the Dolphins’ No. 3 quarterback for the past five games, expressed appreciation for all that Tagovailoa and Wilson have done to help him.
He also admires the Rams’ Matt Stafford from a distance. “I grew up watching Stafford play,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I modeled my game after him. He plays the position the right way and is a good guy to watch. All younger quarterbacks should watch how he plays. He does it the right way.”
Ewers, the nation’s No. 1 quarterback coming out of Carroll Senior High in Southlake, Texas, spent one year at Ohio State but didn’t play and transferred to Texas, where he had 68 touchdowns and 24 interceptions in three years. Last season, he threw 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 65.8% of his passes. He slid to the seventh round in the draft, though many expected him to be selected earlier.
“I think all of us wish he would have gotten drafted higher, but at the end of the day if I could have picked a place that I think is a great fit for him, I think Miami is a great fit,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said after the draft.
“Systematically, what Coach McDaniel does is if not exactly the same very similar to what we do. There’s going to be a level of comfort for him in style of play. It’s a warm weather place. In the end, I think it’s a good fit for him. Now it’s about taking advantage about the opportunity that presents itself.”
On Ewers falling in the draft, the coach said: “I feel for Quinn. “He was a great player for us. I think about a lot of the people who have come into this program over the past four years that have impacted the growth and the trajectory of our program, and he’s right there near the top if not at the top with the impact that he’s had not only on the field but off the field. His ability to help recruit other players to come be part of our program.
“Through all this talk about collective and the things that were going on in the world of NIL. He never took money from our collective. All of what he did through NIL was his true name, image, and likeness. The intent of the rule. On that front, I’m very grateful for what he did for our program.”
Here’s an in-depth look at all of the cap consequences and risks involved with keeping Tagovailoa, cutting Tagovailoa or playing him again and a full look at Miami’s 2026 cap situation.
Here’s more of what McDaniel said about the quarterback change.
Here’s what Tagovailoa said about his benching.
This story was originally published December 17, 2025 at 10:42 AM.
