The Miami Dolphins were officially eliminated from playoff contention after falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers in NFL Week 15. The team now sits at 6-8 overall, and there are significant questions about the future.
On Wednesday, head coach Mike McDaniel made a bold move to try to shake up the offense. After quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s struggles, the team is making a change.
Tua Tagovailoa Benched, Rookie to Start
Against the Steelers, Tagovailoa threw for 253 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. However, many of those yards came in garbage time as the Dolphins were in a big hole.
A major move in Miami: the Dolphins are benching QB Tua Tagovailoa and turning to Quinn Ewers as their new starting QB, per sources.
Ewers’ first start comes Sunday vs. the Bengals. pic.twitter.com/lzs2J1EfjP
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 17, 2025
Now, ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that the team will officially bench Tagovailoa and start the rookie Quinn Ewers for the final three games of the season.
In 2025, Tagovailoa has played in all 14 games, throwing for 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. In Week 15, Tagovailoa passed Geno Smith for the most interceptions in the league.
PFSN’s QB Impact ranking gives Tagovailoa a 72.1 grade for this season, which ranks 25th out of 44 qualified quarterbacks. The entire offense has struggled under Tagovailoa this season, as PFSN’s Offense Impact ranking gives the Dolphins’ unit a 75.0 grade, which is 17th in the league.
Just a couple of seasons ago, it seemed like the Tagovailoa-McDaniel connection would be elite for years to come. In 2023, the Dolphins had the No. 2 offense in the league, according to PFSN’s Offense Impact ranking. The unit has only gotten worse since then, however, and now the team is making a change.
Ahead of the 2024 season, Tagovailoa signed a massive four-year, $212.4 million extension with the Dolphins. The quarterback won’t be a free agent until 2029, so it will be interesting to see if the team can find a suitable trade partner on the market this offseason.
Quinn Ewers Gets a Chance to Prove Himself
The Dolphins selected Ewers in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Texas. With the Longhorns, Ewers earned a Second-team All-SEC selection in 2024 and led the conference with 31 touchdown passes that season.
Ewers’ only NFL action so far came back in Week 7 in a blowout loss to the Cleveland Browns. The rookie completed five of eight passes for 53 yards in that limited sample size.
Now that the Dolphins are out of playoff contention, we know they’ll have a pick at the top half of the first round in 2026. Will the team attempt to draft a rookie passer, or is it possible Ewers does enough to earn the chance to start in 2026?
The Dolphins’ final three games in 2025 are against the Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and New England Patriots.
