Consider me way down on the Miami Dolphins heading into this season. While I still have time between now and the start of the season to figure out how each NFL team will fare, there is a chance the bottom falls out of the wet paper bag that is the Dolphins. I may be a fan of their head coach Mike McDaniel, but Stephen Ross is a meddling owner and I do not trust Chris Grier as a general manager.
But of course, it all comes down to the players because players have to win games. Unfortunately, for as long as Tua Tagovailoa continues to get paid franchise quarterback money, this team will be stuck in the mud. He is forever one injury away from his career being over with the snap of a finger. While I do not think his backup Zach Wilson will amount to anything this season, I am bullish on Quinn Ewers.
The former Texas Longhorns star fell to the Dolphins in the seventh round in the 2025 NFL Draft. He was the last of 13 quarterbacks taken. Players such as Tyler Shough, Cam Miller and Riley Leonard all went ahead of him. This is a guy who helped bring Texas back under Steve Sarkisian. How many quarterbacks have won multiple College Fotball Playoff games in their career? Ewers is underrated.
With how badly Tagovailoa's decision-making has been in games and joint practices, I am so over him.
Safeties Patrick McMorris, John Saunders beat on touchdown to Colston Loveland.
— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) August 8, 2025
Tua intercepted by Jaquan Brisker.
To further prove my point, Joe Schad of The Palm Beach Post reported Tagovailoa threw three picks?!
Tua Tagovailoa was intercepted by Bears’ Tremaine Edmunds in red zone
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) August 8, 2025
Three INTs for Tua today
Entered today with one in all of training camp
If Tagovailoa does not look good vs. the Chicago Bears in a joint practice, what about later on this fall?
Quinn Ewers will replace Tua Tagovailoa in Miami sooner rather than later
If not for the money, the gap between Tagovailoa and Ewers starting could be even narrower. I understand that Tagovailoa has largely an immovable contract, while Ewers will be making around 25 percent of what he could have made this fall had he transferred from Texas to the Miami Hurricanes. In the end, McDaniel has to know he is coaching for his job this fall, so he cannot be playing favorites.
Yes, this may have only been a joint practice between the Dolphins and Bears on Friday ahead of their preseason game happening later this weekend. However, Tagovailoa has yet to prove to me he can be as steady as he was at Alabama playing in the NFL. Nick Saban can tell you first-hand that coaching Miami is not like coaching at Alabama. So I do agree that Tagovailoa will have to overcome all of that.
As far as Ewers is concerned, he just needs to stay healthy, put in the work in practice and take advantage of his in-game opportunities for the Dolphins. Whether those come in the preseason or during games that actually count remain to be seen. The point is Tagovailoa's inability to protect the football, or himself for that matter, are problems the Dolphins should not be dealing with in year six...
Ewers is not going to be handed anything, unless he decides to play safety for the Bears in practice.