Dolphins Announce They're Considering A Quarterback Change

Originally posted on The Spun | By Daniel Bates | Last updated Dec 16, 2025 3:15 PM ET

The end of the Tua Tagovailoa era could be coming sooner than many thought after Mike McDaniel's latest comments.

Fresh off of Monday night's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers that saw the team fail to score a touchdown until 9:41 to go in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins head coach didn't shy away from looking at all available avenues to improving Miami's offense — including benching his $212 million quarterback.

Tua finished 22-of-28 for 253 yards along with two touchdowns and a pick. But those fairly clean numbers belied a pretty troubling performance from the former No. 5 pick.

Oct 30, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) directs a play during the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Mike McDaniel: 'Everything is on the table'

Last night's loss dropped the Phins to 6-8 and out of playoff contention — and also saw Tua throw his league-worst 15th INT. In addition to that, the ex-Alabama star took four sacks and the offense really could never get anything going until the game was already in Pittsburgh's hands.

Speaking to reporters after the disappointing loss, McDaniel admitted that "everything is on the table" when it comes to how he'll approach the final three games of the season: "The quarterback play last night was not good enough. So, for me, everything is on the table," McDaniel shared.

A change at quarterback would mean either Zach Wilson or Quinn Ewers would be inserted into the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel on the possibility of a QB change after Tua Tagovailoa’s struggles: “Everything is on the table.”

Said the QB play last night wasn’t good enough. More clarity Wednesday.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 16, 2025

Tua not living up to 'expectations'

Per Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, McDaniel has been disappointed in how his quarterback has handled most of this year.

"A lot of things have gone on this season... there's been a lot of things in the fold," McDaniel said. "The bottom line is the natural progression of expectations to attack things and nail things and move into the next thing... my expectation was we'd have a better performance."

Tua certainly hasn't put together the type of play that one would expect from a QB making the type of money he is. But that wasn't Mike McDaniel's decision and there's a reason the GM was fired.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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