Examining the Available QBs (And Whether the Dolphins Should Bring In One of Them)

The Miami Dolphins will be adding another quarterback at some point, likely as soon as Monday, after ending Sunday with only two on their roster.

The Dolphins bring in a newcomer over the weekend with the trade for Kyle McCord, and the question now is whether they'll be OK with having a No. 2 quarterback with zero NFL regular season game experience behind starter Malik Willis.

Given that the 2026 season is more about development, evaluation and building a foundation than going all out to compete for a playoff spot or a championship, perhaps GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley are perfectly fine with throwing McCord into the fire should Willis be sidelined for a play or two or even a game or two or longer.

But Hafley was pretty clear in his message in a Zoom media call Saturday that while, yes, the big picture is most important for the Dolphins right now, he's still going to do everything in his power to help the team win as many as games as possible.

So it's fair to ask whether going with McCord as the No. 2 is the right move or whether the better choice is having McCord focus on development in 2026 and bringing in a veteran with some game experience to run the offense whenever, if ever, Willis gets sidelined.

THE AVAILABLE QUARTERBACKS

Unfortunately for the Dolphins, the massive list of player transactions from Sunday as teams got down to the 53-player roster limit didn't put a lot of appealing options on the market.

One reason is that four teams made the unusual move of keeping four quarterbacks on their initial 53-man roster, eliminating possible options for Miami. The Dolphins certainly could trade for a veteran quarterback, but we're thinking that maybe that possibility decreased after the trade for McCord.

This is the rundown of the 18 quarterbacks who were waived: Kedon Slovis by Arizona, Austin Reed by Baltimore, Miller Moss by Chicago, Sean Clifford by Cincinnati, Luke Altmyer by Detroit, Joey Aguilar by Jacksonville, Carter Bradley by Jacksonville, Chris Oladokun by Kansas City, Jacob Clark by Las Vegas, D.J. Uiagalelei by the L.A. Chargers, Hunter Dekkers by New Orleans, Jake Haener by the New York Giants, Brady Cook by the Jets, Adrian Martinez by San Francisco, Connor Bazelak by Tampa Bay, Hendon Hooker and Will Levis by Tennessee, Sam Hartman by Washington.

And here's the list of the nine quarterbacks with four or more years of NFL experience who were released: Shane Buechele by Buffalo, Kyle Trask by Carolina, Josh Johnson by Cincinnati, Brett Rypien by Houston, Easton Stick by Indianapolis, Nick Mullens by Jacksonville, Brandon Allen by the Giants, Bailey Zappe by the Jets, Jake Browning by Tampa Bay.

The Dolphins simply could pick up one of the first 18 via a waiver claim or negotiate a deal with one of the veterans to add depth to their quarterback room.

It's likely the Dolphins will bring back either Mark Gronowski or Cam Miller to the practice squad after waiving both Sunday, but this discussion is strictly about the active roster — if the Dolphins decide they do need more experience at the position.

Among the players waived, the two names that jump out are the two QBs from Tennessee, but there's a player with each.

With Will Levis, who's got great athletic traits but questionable decision-making, would the Dolphins really bring him in after he beat out Malik Willis in Tennessee in 2023? It just might make for a weird dynamic, even if there is absolutely no question that this is Willis' offense.

As for Hooker, he's another QB with great tools, but his processing in the pocket has been lacking from the time he entered the NFL as a second-round pick and it says here the Dolphins would be just better off with McCord at that point.

Among the veterans, there's frankly no overly appealing option. Johnson has the most experience, but he's also 40 years old, which isn't ideal. Mullens also has a good bit of experience, except his poor summer performance is what led to Jacksonville sending the Dolphins a 2028 sixth-round pick to pick up another QB who had a poor summer, Quinn Ewers.

Truthfully, based on the options available, it could be that the Dolphins' best move is simply to wait things out, particularly with those teams with four quarterbacks and see if a better alternative shows up.

And if it doesn't, it might just make sense to simply go with McCord and give him some game experience.

Of course, the best scenario of all for Miami is that Willis never gets injured in 2026.

It just never hurts to be prepared. But, again, there aren't great insurance policies available right now.

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