Mike McDaniel speaks on Tua Benching, Ewers Promotion

Mike McDaniel speaks on Tua Benching, Ewers Promotion

Not even 48 hours removed from a loss that mathematically put the Miami Dolphins out of playoff contention, they’ve decided to shake up their quarterback rotation majorly.

After Tua Tagovailoa started Miami’s opening 14 games of the season, the team has relegated him to its No. 3 emergency quarterback. Moreover, rookie Quinn Ewers, who’s barely sniffed the field in his first NFL season up to this point, is set to log his first pro start against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

Head coach Mike McDaniel spoke on the alterations to the Dolphins’ quarterback depth chart and chalked up the changes to his desire for his signal-callers to play with “conviction.”

“I’m looking for conviction in quarterback play,” he said. “I felt he would play the position most convicted, which impacts every player on the field. I needed more convicted play on the quarterback position.”

Tagovailoa’s sixth campaign in the NFL and as a Dolphin has been defined by a lack of conviction, and it feels like McDaniel was taking a subtle shot at the team’s longtime franchise quarterback.

While Tagovailoa headed some great offensive teams in the past (and put up phenomenal individual numbers in the process), this season, he’s leading the NFL in interceptions for a Miami offense that ranks near the bottom of the league in points per game. There were far fewer highs than lows in Tagovailoa’s 2025 season, and it seems more than possible that he’s played his last game as a Dolphin.

With Tagovailoa’s role relegated and Miami’s playoff chances already evaporated, hopefully Ewers will make the most of his additional snaps over the last few games of this season. After all, there were some outlets that had him pegged as the No. 4 quarterback of his draft class behind only the likes of Cam Ward (who was drafted No. 1 overall), Shedeur Sanders, and Jaxson Dart.

He should have plenty of chances between now and the end of the season to prove he belongs in the same conversation as those names.