How Benching Tua for Ewers Was the Only Logical Decision Dolphins Could Make

The Miami Dolphins have made a major change at the quarterback position.

The team is benching Tua Tagovailoa in favor of seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers ahead of the team’s Week 16 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, per multiple national reports.

This comes one day after Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said he was considering a quarterback change, following the team’s dreadful performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers Monday night.

"The QB play last night was not good enough," McDaniel said Tuesday afternoon when asked about a potential QB change. “Everything is on the table.”

There’s no denying that McDaniel is right about the QB play not being good enough. Tua padded his stats late against the Steelers, but he was holding the offense back quite a bit in the first three quarters of the game.

He’s been regressing all season, too. Tua leads the NFL in interceptions and has seen almost all of his efficiency metrics fall to pre-McDaniel levels. On tape, his footwork, anticipation, and accuracy were a mess.

For a quarterback with limited physical tools, it made the Dolphins’ offense even more limited than it already was.

Well, the best option on the table in McDaniel’s mind is to roll with Ewers, who has mostly been a healthy inactive this season. This decision might surprise some since McDaniel passed up Zach Wilson, who has been QB2 for most of the season, but it probably shouldn’t.

Why Quinn Ewers Replacing Tua Makes the Most Sense

Since Miami is eliminated from playoff contention, the rest of the season should be about making decisions with the future in mind. The Dolphins have seen enough from Tagovailoa, and Wilson will be a free agent this offseason.

Ewers is under contract next year, and he’s the only player in the room who is a relative unknown. Wilson’s NFL tape is awful, and he hasn’t seen the field during the regular season in two years now.

Finding out what a young, unproven player like Ewers can do is more beneficial to Miami’s long-term outlook. While many will frame this as whether Ewers can be a starter, figuring out if he’s a viable backup is also important.

The Dolphins have gotten consistently burned by poor backup QB play in the McDaniel era, so finding a cheap one like Ewers shouldn’t be scoffed at. In fact, that’s 100% more valuable than trying to go 9-8 with Tua.

Ewers looking like a viable option takes one thing off the offseason checklist for whoever the new general manager will be.

Starting Ewers over Tua Leaves Some Questions

All of that is why making this move is a no-brainer; however, some elements make it surprising. McDaniel repeatedly said he would pick the QB that gave the team the best chance to win during his presser Tuesday.

If Ewers gave Miami the best chance to win, then why was he inactive on game days outside of one game against Cleveland?

Also, as much as it makes sense for Miami’s future to see what Ewers can do, there is a real chance he’s just as bad as Tua. Ewers’ Texas tape was not good, and there’s a good reason he fell to the seventh round this past draft.

The other surprise here is what this means for McDaniel’s job security. He’s on the hot seat and needs the team to look as good as possible to save his job.

Does starting Ewers — a move that’s much more beneficial for the future than right now — mean McDaniel got some assurances? It’s impossible to say, but it seems worth considering.

Regardless of the true motivation behind the move, the bottom line is that Tua played poorly enough to make this a real possibility. Miami’s franchise QB has bottomed out less than two seasons after getting a four-year, $212 million extension.

Ewers is the team’s best chance at generating some hope, but it’s once again clear that Miami has failed at the game’s most important position.

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