Quinn Ewers Did Not Expect to be Named the Starter for the Last Three Games

Quinn Ewers did not expect to be named the Miami Dolphins’ starting quarterback for the last three games of the season.

The rookie quarterback was a seventh-round draft selection who had spent the entire 2025 season as the third-string quarterback behind starter Tua Tagovailoa and backup Zach Wilson. However, when the Dolphins were eliminated from playoff contention following their Monday Night Football loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15, Miami’s former head coach Mike McDaniel made the move to Ewers for their Week 16 tilt against the Cincinnati Bengals.

All things considered, Ewers played well for a rookie quarterback, especially one who was playing without the team’s best offensive weapon in Tyreek Hill. The 22-year-old racked up three touchdowns against three interceptions for an 85.5 passer rating. He completed 66.3% of his passes for 7.5 yards per attempt. The passer rating ranked third among all rookie quarterbacks, only behind Jaxson Dart and Tyler Shough.

Ewers detailed that the most difficult adjustment to being a rookie was not the speed of the game, but the pre-snap process of the offense.

“We had a pretty complicated pre-snap process with Coach McDaniel, which I wouldn’t want to have any other way,” said Ewers in a one-on-one interview with Dolphins Talk. “I actually enjoyed it. But that was definitely the hardest with our timing motions and what we were required to know pre-snap and what we were required to do pre-snap.” 

“I feel that I’m a pretty instinctual player, so I feel like with the speed, I got enough reps in practice and in training camp to where the speed didn’t really affect me when I was in the game at the time,” Ewers continued to say. “In practices prior, I think I kind of had gotten used to it.”

It’s worth noting that although Ewers wasn’t a top pick in the draft, he had grown accustomed to playing in big games as a member of the Texas Longhorns. Ewers led the Longhorns to the College Football Playoff during the 2023 and 2024 seasons and had Arch Manning — one of the most highly hyped recruits ever — breathing down his neck.

Ewers detailed how that experience in Austin at one of the biggest universities in the nation helped prepare him for the NFL.

“It’s a prideful college,” said Ewers. “It’s got a lot of tradition. There’s a few colleges that will truly get you ready for the pro level, and that’s on what plays are being called, or even the outside of what city you’re in, or how the media is. I feel like Texas and being in Austin is one of those colleges, no doubt.”

There’s a lot of uncertainty relating to the future of Tagovailoa as the Dolphins’ starting quarterback. Many are speculating that Tagovailoa could be on the way out with a new regime in place in head coach Jeff Hafley.

Ewers, who spent the season backing up Tagovailoa, gives praise to the former Pro Bowl quarterback, saying he loves the “anticipation” that he plays with on his throws.

“His anticipation, because he has a great feel of the field,” said Ewers of Tagovailoa’s best trait. “I feel like he has a really good vision of when guys are going to be open and when guys are going to go free, and I feel like he has a really good feel on when to throw the ball, whether it’s before the wide receiver even breaks or whatnot. I feel like I got a good feel for how he does that. It’s helped me a lot.”

When asked what he wants to hone in on and improve upon entering his second season, Ewers said his “process” and his “routine” during the week.

“As I’ve kind of had time to reflect over the past year, I would say continue to grow my process and continue to grow my routine during the week,” said Ewers. “Because obviously, I only got three chances to figure out what routine I really wanted as a starter and man, I just want to continue to grow my overall knowledge of the game in general. I know it’s kind of broad, but I feel like that’s really what I need to do.”