NFL’s sixth-highest-paid QB benched after continued struggles

Add quarterback to the growing list of areas of uncertainty for the Miami Dolphins’ future.

Coach Mike McDaniel is benching starter Tua Tagovailoa and replacing him with rookie Quinn Ewers, according to multiple reports.

Zach Wilson will serve as the backup and Tagovailoa will be the emergency third-stringer, per reports.

The move comes just one day after McDaniel cast doubt on Tagovailoa’s standing, saying ‘everything is on the table’ after ‘the quarterback play (Monday) was not good enough’ in a 28-15 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Tagovailoa has endured a turbulent ride in his sixth season in South Florida. He leads the NFL with a career-worst 15 interceptions. The southpaw signal-caller was benched in a Week 7 blowout loss to the Cleveland Browns, with McDaniel saying he ‘just wasn’t good enough’ on the day. He set off a maelstrom the previous week by criticizing unspecified teammates for showing up late to players-only meetings or missing them entirely. McDaniel rebuked his quarterback, who later apologized for the remarks.

Ewers, a seventh-round rookie out of Texas, replaced Tagovailoa in the loss to the Browns. He completed five of eight attempts for 53 yards in his NFL debut.

In the loss to the Steelers, Tagovailoa struggled for the first three quarters before bolstering his final stat line in the last three drives. He finished with 253 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on 22-of-28 passing.

Tagovailoa’s demotion is the latest shake-up for a franchise that has already experienced a good deal of upheaval in the last calendar year, with more potentially still to come. General manager Chris Grier parted ways with the organization on Halloween, with McDaniel’s future still unclear as he coaches out the season.

With the loss to the Steelers, the Dolphins were eliminated from playoff conention. The team’s postseason win drought dating back to the 2000 season is the longest active run for any team in the league.

McDaniel enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Tagovailoa in the early going of his coaching tenure with the Dolphins. The peak arrived in the 2023 season, during which the offense led the NFL in total yards and the quarterback earned his lone Pro Bowl nod. The following year, however, Tagovailoa missed six games due to a concussion and a hip ailment.

Though Miami enjoyed a late-season resurgence this year with a four-game win streak heading into the matchup with Pittsburgh, it was a rushing attack averaging a league-best 192 yards per game during that span that was leading the way.

The Dolphins host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in a game that was flexed from its original ‘Sunday Night Football’ prime-time slot.

Tua Tagovailoa contract

Tagovailoa is the NFL’s sixth-highest-paid player after signing a four-year, $212.1 million extension in 2024.

Due $54 million in guaranteed salary in 2026, Tagovailoa could be prohibitively expensive to part ways with if the Dolphins want to move on. Releasing him after the season would incur a record $99.2 million dead cap hit, though that figure could be spread over two seasons with a post-June 1 designation.