The Miami Dolphins have cleaned house in the past few months, replacing both their head coach and general manager after another disappointing season. Tua Tagovailoa is expected to follow other notable departures, like Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb, out the door, and attention has already shifted to his potential replacements.
Seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers could be the answer, but he failed to make the job his in a limited opportunity at the end of last season. With a lack of top quarterback talent in this year’s draft, which veterans could Miami pursue to steady the ship for the short term?
1) Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins would make a lot of sense for Miami this offseason, provided a bidding war doesn’t push up the veteran’s price. The Dolphins should be in contention for one of the premier quarterback options in next year’s draft, and a dependable veteran could be just what they need in the meantime.
Cousins won five of his eight starts with the Atlanta Falcons in 2025 but is expected to be cut by the NFC South team, which has an ongoing commitment to Michael Penix Jr. The veteran has been linked to a return to the Minnesota Vikings, but J.J. McCarthy’s presence could make that a messy situation.
Ideally, the Dolphins would land Cousins on a two-year deal at low-end starter money, giving them the option to draft and sit their future franchise star in 2027.
2) Russell Wilson
This one likely wouldn’t go down too well with Dolphins fans. However, Russell Wilson would be attainable on a far more team-friendly deal than Cousins.
Wilson has lost each of his last eight games as a starter, including the 2024 playoffs, and his days as a desirable franchise quarterback have long been over. The huge cap hit the Dolphins would face by cutting Tagovailoa is significantly less after 2026, though, and a cheap one-year deal makes a lot of financial sense.
3) Joe Flacco
Joe Flacco has been a backup/bridge quarterback for seven years now, but the 41-year-old hasn’t ruled out playing in 2026 if a team needs a starter. Whether his play has been good enough to warrant committing to him is another matter, with Quinn Ewers still an option for Miami.
Flacco won just two of his ten starts in 2025, one with the Cleveland Browns and one with the Cincinnati Bengals, but proved he could still make plays in a functioning offense. Allowing Ewers to sit behind a true professional before taking over down the stretch would be a good way to see what they have before a QB-heavy 2027 draft.
4) Jameis Winston
If Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan want to keep fans entertained, though, Jameis Winston is the clear option while they rebuild the roster they inherited. The Dolphins aren’t going to win the Super Bowl next season, and if they’re committed to drafting their guy, why not give the people something to cheer about?
Winston is just as capable of single-handedly losing games as he is of single-handedly winning them, but he could do wonders for Jaylen Waddle in Miami. The veteran journeyman isn’t afraid to sling it, and the likes of Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman can attest to the impact Winston can have on a receiver’s numbers.
Winston is under contract with the New York Giants for another year, but would be very affordable in a trade.
The Dolphins might not want to wait until 2027 to take a shot in the draft. If they haven’t signed a starter by late April, here are two names to keep an eye on.
5) Ty Simpson
Fernando Mendoza is going to be a Las Vegas Raider next season, unless something incredible happens. That leaves Miami as one of the few teams with an eye on Alabama product Ty Simpson.
Simpson is a one-year starter, having sat behind Jalen Milroe and Bryce Young before their respective moves to the NFL. He looked to be making the most of that year, though, and was tipped to be the first overall pick in the draft midway through the season.
He couldn’t keep things going until the end of the year, but wasn’t terrible in that stretch, either, and could well be worth a shot in the draft if he falls far enough. It’s unlikely he’ll be there at the Dolphins’ second pick (43), though, while Pick 11 might be considered too soon, given the plethora of positions Miami needs to address.
If they can trade forward or back to a more favorable spot, Simpson could be a Dolphin in 2026.
6) Garrett Nussmeier
If, however, the Dolphins want to take a shot at the position without committing too much draft capital, Garrett Nussmeier is a potential Round 3/4 option. The former LSU standout is widely considered to be the third-best quarterback in this year’s class and was also previously considered a potential top pick.
Nussmeier threw 41 touchdowns to 17 picks over his final two years in college and would be far less costly than Simpson if Miami is determined to do its shopping in the draft.
Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold are shining examples of quarterbacks who have turned their careers around on new teams. One of the quarterbacks below could get a chance to do the same if they join Miami.
7) Malik Willis
Malik Willis’ Green Bay Packers connections have made him a favorite to land in Miami, with both Hafley and Sullivan having recently made the same move southeast from Wisconsin. The former Tennessee Titan has excelled when filling in for Jordan Love over the past two years, throwing for 6 scores to 0 interceptions and adding 3 more TDs on the ground.
There’ll be competition for Willis, but with enough other quarterbacks set to be on the market, he should be attainable at a reasonable price. If the free agent proves that he can handle a full-time starting job, great; if not, the Dolphins will be picking high enough in next year’s draft to replace him.
8) Kyler Murray
Kyler Murray would likely prove to be the most expensive option on this list, and Miami would have to commit long-term to bring down his massive 2026 cap number ($52.66 million). While the Arizona Cardinals have played their hand regarding Murray, who was informally benched last season, he is still under contract for three more years.
It’s hard to see the sense in taking a huge dead-cap hit by cutting Tagovailoa to bring in Murray, who has also struggled for both health and form in recent years. With Tagovailoa’s 2026 salary still hanging over the Dolphins’ heads, the Cardinals quarterback is a difficult one to envisage Miami pursuing, but he still makes this list.
9) Mac Jones
Mac Jones is also under contract in 2026, and he would likely be the most expensive target to acquire in a trade, but he is also the safest long-term option on this list. Jones has proven, across three NFL teams, that he can produce at the NFL level.
As a rookie, he guided the New England Patriots to a 10-7 record, and has since shown up in a big way for the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers as a backup. In 2025, Jones ranked ninth in the PFSN NFL QB Impact metric despite playing through significant injuries, further cementing his case for an NFL starting job.
Like Willis, Jones would be looking for a starter’s salary and a multi-year deal with a realistic shot to become his new team’s franchise quarterback. The toughness he showed in 2025 should get fans onside, despite his background in New England, and he’ll likely cost the same third or fourth-round pick that Nussmeier will.
10) Dillon Gabriel
This list could have, and many will say “should have,” finished with Jones, but I’ve thrown Cleveland’s Dillon Gabriel in as a wildcard. If Gabriel were in this year’s draft, he’d likely be ranked around Nussmeier, if not higher, and he’d cost little more than a late throwaway pick in a trade. He has potential, would cost almost nothing, and has something to prove.
Only Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty finished ahead of Gabriel in Heisman voting in 2024, but the quarterback was always facing an uphill battle to win over the Browns’ fanbase. That’s despite being the only one of Cleveland’s quarterbacks to register a positive TD/INT score (3.5) and to outperform both Shedeur Sanders and Flacco in completion percentage (59.5%).
Those aren’t phenomenal numbers by any means, and Gabriel needs to take more risks as a passer, but he shouldn’t be judged on a brief rookie cameo in a stale Browns offense. With significant cap space tied up in Tagovailoa and a complete rebuild required, a low-cost upside shot makes sense. At worst, he becomes an upgraded QB2 long term.
