Tua time is over in Miami.
The Dolphins are benching quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and starting Quinn Ewers for their upcoming game against the Cincinnati Bengals, head coach Mike McDaniel announced Wednesday.
McDaniel had hinted at a QB change following the team’s 28-15 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football, which officially eliminated the team from playoff contention.
“The quarterback play last night was not good enough. So for me, everything is on the table,” the coach told reporters on Tuesday, via NFL Network.
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension with the Dolphins in July 2024, keeping him under contract through 2028. He already has $54 million guaranteed in 2026, and cutting him would cost the Dolphins $99 million in dead money.
The 2025 season was the first for Tagovailoa under his new extension. He started the Dolphins’ first 14 games, completing 67.7% of his passes for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and a league-leading 15 interceptions.
Ewers, a seventh-round rookie of out the University of Texas, has made just one appearance so far this season and has otherwise been the Dolphins’ emergency quarterback. He will now face the Bengals in Week 16 before the Dolphins close out the season with a Week 17 home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a Week 18 road game against the New England Patriots.
Zach Wilson will serve as Ewers’ backup, while Tagovailoa will be the Dolphins’ emergency QB, McDaniel said.
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