Miami Dolphins fans were not disappointed with what they saw in Quinn Ewers last season. His three starts in the final three weeks were enough to excite fans and players about his potential.
Ewers was a 7th-round pick, and he already looks like a steal for the Dolphins. A year earlier, he would have been drafted in the first two rounds, but his decision to return to school for one more year derailed that. Ewers didn't care. He just wants to play football.
With the Super Bowl now days away, D.J. Siddiqi of RG.com had a chance to pick Ewers' brain on what his first starts were like, and what the future might hold.
Quinn Ewers makes it clear that his Miami Dolphins future depends on his progress
Ewers was far from perfect. A rookie QB thrown into a tough system that he has barely run during the season. The third-string QB spent his rookie year running the weekly scout team, as most rookies do. When he got the call that he was going to start, it was a surprise.
"We had just gotten back from Pittsburgh. I slept in as long as I could. I woke up at like 11, and I had a call from my quarterbacks coach (Darrell Bevell). He told me that Coach McDaniel was talking about maybe starting me that week against the Bengals."Quinn Ewers
Ewers jumped over second-team QB Zach Wilson. At the time, it was assumed that McDaniel's move may have been an effort to save his job. It clearly indicated that Tua Tagovailoa's future was in question.
"It’s my job to be ready for the opportunity and to be ready when my name is called. I feel like I took the opportunity, and I feel like I ran with it. The outcome, the results weren’t obviously what me and the team wanted."Quinn Ewers
Ewers hasn't had his name mentioned often by new head coach Jeff Hafley, but neither has Tagovailoa's. Hafley has been adamant that there will be a quarterback competition this offseason. He has stressed that the QBs could come from the roster or from someone yet to arrive.
Regardless, it is highly unlikely that the Dolphins will move on from Ewers. He showed enough during that stretch to at least give the new staff an idea of what he can do. Previously, Ewers has said that he welcomes the competition and looks forward to having a shot at the starting job.
No one has questioned his work ethic. He jumped in immediately to digest the playbook, and it was clear that McDaniel wasn't watering down his system to accommodate Ewers. Now that Bobby Slowik is returning as OC, there will be familiarity on offense for Ewers as well.