The Miami Dolphins don't have a quarterback controversy, and unless something happens to Tua Tagovailoa this year, that will not change. Regardless, rookie Quinn Ewers is in a good position to learn a lot from Tagovailoa.
Through two weeks of the 2025 season, there is plenty from Tagovailoa that Ewers can digest, but most of them are not good.
Ewers is far from perfect, and he has yet to take a single snap in a meaningful NFL game, but if he has aspirations to eventually become a starting quarterback in the NFL, he needs to be taking the right kind of notes.
Miami Dolphins rookie QB Quinn Ewers has to develop his own habits, and that includes being a leader
At Texas, Ewers had no problem leading his team. He struggled more in 2024 than he did the previous year, but he kept his team together. Through one offseason and two regular-season games, fans and media alike are already questioning Tagovailoa's lack of leadership.
Ewers can't look at Tagovailoa as a role model. There are areas he can take notes from, but mostly what he has seen so far are examples of what not to do. Tagovailoa lacks the visible and audible leadership that great quarterbacks possess.
Teams rally around those types of players; they are not doing that in Miami, but instead, they go through the motions of saying they do out loud, but show a different vibe on the field.
Tagovailoa has to be better at this part of his game. For Ewers, he has to learn how to review NFL tape, how to be approachable to his teammates, but most importantly, he needs to be able to hold them accountable. That isn't something he can do until he is actually on the field proving he can play at this level.
The Dolphins' starter makes a lot of mistakes. He isn't smooth in the pocket, and he can get rattled easily under pressure.
He tends to force throws at times when he doesn't need to. From the sidelines and in the film room, Ewers can watch how Tagovailoa plays and see the mistakes being made, thus allowing him to correct similar errors before he makes them down the road.
The best thing Ewers can do is find his own voice and his own path to becoming a leader. Just because he is a backup doesn't mean he can't be vocal, but he has to earn his team's respect. The best person for Ewers to listen to right now is quarterback coach Darrel Bevel.
Bevel is good at his job, and that makes the Tagovailoa situation more troubling. There are leadership problems, preparation problems, and more importantly, execution problems.
Add inconsistency and accountability into the mix, and Ewers has the blueprint to do better. If and when his time comes to be the guy the Dolphins are relying on to win games.