The Miami Dolphins' new brain trust of general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley stuck to their Green Bay roots to mine for the team's next potential franchise quarterback.
Although the cash-strapped Dolphins' spending spree in free agency will have to wait until next offseason, they shelled out enough dough to land ex-Packers backup Malik Willis. That relegated rising second-year signal-caller Quinn Ewers to, well, second-string status right away.
Despite how impressive Ewers was in a lot of ways for a seventh-round rookie in 2025, no matter how good he looks leading up to the regular season, the QB1 gig is Willis' to lose.
That's not necessarily a bad thing for Ewers.
Quinn Ewers has the makings of a valuable Miami Dolphins trade chip, whether he plays or not
Some folks may forget that Ewers was legitimately one of the best QB recruits in college football history. He didn't live up to that billing at the University of Texas, yet he had a solid career, and his arm talent is self-evident.
Ewers has the unique capacity to deliver off-platform throws from any arm angle, has plenty of juice to push the ball downfield, and can layer the ball very well for such a young player.
Combine that skill set with the NFL's perpetual desperation for quarterbacks, and Ewers could easily land on the trade block. Willis will, in all likelihood, get the starting nod for Miami in Week 1. He should have plenty of runway to keep the job, as the Dolphins are embarking on a grueling rebuild, and it's not like he has The Greatest Show on Turf as his supporting cast at the skill positions.
Between the three-year investment Miami made in Willis and how loaded the 2027 NFL Draft figures to be at the position, there's little reason for the Dolphins to hang onto Ewers if they can sell high on him.
Shoot, it may only take a flashy preseason from Ewers to get trade chatter going. Never mind if Willis struggles enough or gets banged up, and Ewers takes the reins and balls out.
Perhaps lost in the shuffle of chaos that was the 2025 campaign in Miami was the fact that Ewers, in only his second start, beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-17. Tampa was fighting for their playoff lives. That didn't faze Ewers, as he completed 14 of 22 passes for 178 yards, two TDs, and posted a 118.0 passer rating.
Given his lowly draft status, the lack of reps whilst sitting behind Tua Tagovailoa, and how much of a tire fire the Dolphins were by season's end, Ewers performed extremely well under the circumstances.
And oh by the way, he just turned 23 in March. Rather than signing Tua, the QB-needy Falcons probably should've just rang Sullivan and parted with a draft pick for Ewers instead.
Any number of teams that need either a quality, dependable backup with future starter upside could be inquiring before the trade deadline. It may seem shocking now, but if the price is right, how could Sullivan not at least listen to an offer for Ewers sometime down the road?
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