Injury to Bo Nix might unlock surprise 2026 QB option for Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are entering a new era in 2026, but one major question mark among many is who will be the team's starting quarterback this upcoming season.

Quinn Ewers was a seventh-round pick. Rolling into the new year with him under center feels unlikely given his draft status alone. Miami absolutely must bring in competition for Ewers, unless the new coaching staff and GM Jon-Eric Sullivan decide to roll with Tua Tagovailoa again out of necessity.

Tua proceeding as the starter for one last chance isn't as far-fetched as it sounds, if only because getting out of his exorbitant contract is such a prohibitive penalty. Tight end Darren Waller recently suggested Tua still has the ability to play at a high level, but that he just needs to heal some of his psychological scars from his severe injury history.

All those qualifiers aside, assuming Tua isn't QB1 in 2026, it's very possible the Dolphins will watch their future Tua successor start the AFC Championship Game for the Denver Broncos.

Broncos QB Jarrett Stidham could parlay a strong playoff performance into consideration for the Miami Dolphins QB job

After a thrilling 33-30 Divisional Round victory over the Buffalo Bills, Broncos head coach Sean Payton announced that his starting quarterback, Bo Nix, would need season-ending ankle surgery.

That paves the way for Jarrett Stidham to start the AFC title game against the winner of Sunday's Patriots-Texans matchup in Foxborough.

Stidham hasn't gotten many reps or in-game experience of late. However, he was once drafted by New England in the fourth round out of Auburn. He has some very real arm talent, underrated athleticism, and was among the top five highest-paid backup QBs in 2025.

Not that Payton was going to lack for confidence after breaking the news of Nix's devastating injury, but he didn't shy away from how much faith he has in Stidham in the slightest:

The last two starts of Stidham's career came at the end of 2023, when Payton benched Russell Wilson to mark the end of that era. Across those games, Stidham completed 40 of 66 passes for 496 yards, two TDs, one INT, and a passer rating of 87.7.

Before Stidham landed in the Mile High City, though, he exploded onto Payton's radar in large part due to his 365-yard passing effort as a Raider in a 37-34 overtime loss to the 49ers. In his next start thereafter, Stidham carried the ball seven times for 50 yards. As touched on before, he has plenty of mobility.

Given that the Dolphins are in a salary cap conundrum in 2026 and face so much roster turnover, another team could outbid them for the only other worthy free-agent QB, Malik Willis. That leaves Stidham and not much else in terms of options on the open market.

Fans are already drawing the obvious comparisons between Stidham and Nick Foles, who led the Eagles to a Super Bowl win after Carson Wentz went down with an injury. Seems unlikely history would repeat itself like that, but who knows? It's the NFL. Weird things happen.

Stidham certainly has an elite offensive line and defense to complement him, if not top-flight pass-catchers. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and what stands out to me is how confident Stidham is in his abilities.

To invoke undeservedly departed Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, check your pulse if you're not fired up after hearing Stidham's reaction to Nix winning the Broncos' starting job in 2024.

No matter how well Stidham fares in the next game or two, he can't drive his price up to where Willis' is going to be. Nevertheless, if Stidham plays to the standard he holds himself to — and validates Payton's faith in him — he can certainly compete for a starting gig in 2026 for the Dolphins or some other team.