The Miami Dolphins' slim shot at making the playoffs took a nose dive on Monday night when the team lost to the Steelers. The 2025 season is nothing more than a three-week run for pride, and maybe saving Mike McDaniel's job.
If McDaniel's head coaching job with the Dolphins is dependent on winning, he may have a hard time convincing his boss that they can. McDaniel announced on Wednesday that Tua Tagovailoa will be sitting out the next three games, with rookie Quinn Ewers set to replace him.
McDaniel is not giving up on his team any more than they have given up on him, but there comes a time when knowing what you have for the future is part of building for that future. For McDaniel, that time has come.
Miami Dolphins' HC Mike McDaniel is looking ahead to 2026 by starting Quinn Ewers
If the Dolphins were still in the playoff chase, keeping Tagovailoa in the starting position would make sense, but they are not, and a big reason for that is the inconsistent play of that starting QB. It would have been a lot more interesting to see if this move would have been made had the Dolphins won, but they didn't.
Starting Ewers over the usual backup, Zach Wilson, makes a ton of sense. Miami has tape on Wilson, but not enough on Ewers. The Dolphins like what Ewers brings to the table, but they needed to be forced into giving him playing time. This move has far more to do with what may happen in 2026 than what it does for 2025. If he plays well, Miami may not shop for a quarterback in the mid-rounds of the draft next year.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow was asked about Ewers starting this week, and he gave further reason to think it won't help Miami in 2025.
"He’s getting thrown in there in Week [16] with basically one week of practice as the starter. Certainly not the easiest position to be in."Joe Burrow
Following the loss on Monday night, Mike McDaniel fielded a question about benching his starting quarterback. He wasn't ready then, but by the time he met with the press on Tuesday, everything had changed.
That is where Ewers comes into play. The Dolphins may still believe that Tagovailoa is the answer, but they need to know if Zach Wilson is the right backup for Tagovailoa. Ewers and Wilson should be the only quarterbacks lining up for Miami in the final three weeks, and it appears that will be the case.
Everything left in this season points to evaluation for 2026. McDaniel has to operate the team as though he will be back because he probably will be. The same can be said for Champ Kelly. The interim GM should be begging McDaniel to start any of the younger players so he can evaluate them. I doubt that Kelly had much to do with Tua's benching, but I also don't think he was against it.