Miami’s Options at Quarterback

Miami’s Options at Quarterback

While the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks get ready for the Super Bowl, the Miami Dolphins are looking ahead to the 2026 campaign.

With new hirings including head coach Jeff Hafley and former Green Bay Packers linebackers coach Sean Duggan to be their new defensive coordinator, the biggest question, of course, lies with the quarterback.

The league is driven by the position.

We hoped that the team had found the solution at quarterback with Tua Tagovailoa, but after two straight disappointing seasons, that era is likely at an end.

So, who will be the Dolphins’ signal caller in 2026? I’d like to lay out some options. 

We’ll start off with Aaron Rodgers. I wrote a comprehensive article about the possibility of Rodgers joining the team last week, but I’ll provide the cliffnotes here. The Dolphins hired Nathiel Hackett to be their quarterbacks coach. It’s well known that Hackett and Rodgers are close from their time together with the Packers.

They had one failed reunion in New York, and with Rodgers being a free agent, there is a chance that the pair could come together for one last ride. With Rodgers being so well paid over the course of his career, he could take a deal that would be more team-friendly to help alleviate the cap situation the Dolphins find themselves in due to the massive contract Tua signed. 

That leads us to Tua himself, once positioned as the savior of the franchise, his time in Miami has been a rollercoaster with some of the highest highs we’ve seen in the post-Marino era.

However, it is clear that the injuries, such as his many concussions and aggravation of his catastrophic hip injury, have robbed him of much of his talents. His cap hit is a huge $56 million next season, and his dead cap is $99 million should they cut him. Even so, releasing a player with a huge dead cap number isn’t unheard of; the Broncos did it after the 2023 season with Russell Wilson and were one game away from the Super Bowl this season.

I feel the best thing for both sides would be a clean break: perhaps Tua can find a starting gig elsewhere, and it would provide Miami and its new coaching staff with a fresh start. 

Quinn Ewers started the final three games of the season and went 1-2 with 569 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. The victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers provided fans with some hope, but his performance against the Patriots in the regular season finale left much to be desired. He’s still young and on a rookie contract, so I expect him to get a shot at winning the starting job during training camp. It’s possible he could surprise us and take the next step, but that isn’t something I’m counting on. 

Malik Willis is a popular name that’s been suggested as a potential free agent signing for the Dolphins.

Obviously, with the influx of former Packers staffers, the connection is there. Willis has filled in admirably for Jordan Love over the past two seasons going 2-1 with 972 yards 6 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He’s an intriguing prospect, but not one that I could see the team spending big money on. If the price is right, expect him in Miami, but if there are many interesting parties, the price may get too high. 

An unnamed rookie in the hopes of finding a diamond in the rough. The 2026 quarterback class is rather weak, with Heisman winner and National Championship game MVP Fernando Mendoza leading the way and likely being the first overall pick.

Outside of Mendoza, there really isn’t anyone who jumps out at you. With that said I expect the team to take a flyer on someone, two names that I keep coming back to are Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, a true project as he only spent one season at the division one level.

The other is Drew Allar, who looks the part of a professional signal caller at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds. He’s coming off an ankle injury that ended his 2025 season after just 6 games. He seems to have the physical tools, but he could be another project the Dolphins might be interested in exploring. 

As disappointing as it is to be in this position once again, there is a bit of excitement to go along with it. The Dolphins are entering a new era and maybe this will be the one that actually sees the team getting over the hump and winning a playoff game or two. Are there any other quarterbacks that you’ve had your eye on that you’d like to see the Dolphins take a chance on? Let me know in the comments.

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