The road for Tua Tagovailoa is getting a bit narrower as the 2025 season continues. Mike McDaniel benched him after his third interception against the Cleveland Browns last week, and it could get worse for the Miami Dolphins in Week 8.
In a recent article for NFL Spin Zone, FanSided's Ryan Heckman released several predictions for this weekend's NFL slate of games. Heckman predicts that Tagovailoa will get benched for the second week in a row.
"The Falcons are coming off a loss in prime time, and that defensive line has shown an ability to get nasty this year," writes Heckman. "Tua Tagovailoa is going to get pushed around early and often, and the mistakes will come. Expect Quinn Ewers to make a second-straight appearance for Miami after Tua cashes three turnovers for the Falcons."
Tua Tagovailoa has to keep the Dolphins' offense in the game if he is going to keep his starting job
At some point, the Dolphins have to make a change if their starting quarterback continues to play poorly. Last week marked the first time since Brian Flores became the coach that Tagovailoa was pulled.
The Dolphins will be forced to decide on Tagovailoa if he continues to struggle. Quinn Ewers is waiting for his opportunity. Last week, he got in some snaps, but his entrance into the game was later, after victory was out of reach.
If Tagovailoa struggles early, throws more interceptions, or is simply off, McDaniel may look to the rookie to try to win a game, something they haven't done since beating the New York Jets in Week 4.
The Dolphins don't have much hope for this season, but they won't give up either. The team is playing for pride, or at least they should be. Tagovailoa's play is starting to take him down a road that a former starter went down.
Kirk Cousins was supposed to be the quarterback the Falcons needed, but they opted to play the younger draft pick and leave the expensive Cousins on the bench. If Tagovailoa can't turn his play around soon, he may find himself the expensive backup to a rookie.
Benching Tagovailoa may also serve McDaniel well, especially if the Dolphins HC can open his offense a bit more and utilize Ewers' ability to get out of the pocket and run. McDaniel may have a fighting chance to prove he is limited with Tagovailoa, a quarterback he was told he needed to work with when he was hired.