Ranking Possible Offseason QB Options

There’s no hiding it anymore: The Miami Dolphins need a franchise quarterback.

That’s the top thing on new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan’s list for this offseason, but the options aren’t exactly inspiring. We’ve explored this before, but this time we’re going to rank the options from worst to best.

The Dolphins can (and should) consider a combination of these options, but these rankings are based around one crucial question: “What’s the best chance for Miami to leave 2026 with a young, franchise passer?”

Ranking Dolphins Top QB Options

1. Sign Malik Willis

Willis takes our top spot mostly because he’s the best QB on the market. Fernando Mendoza is the only sure-fire first-round QB prospect this year, and he’s going No. 1 overall to the Raiders.

Since Miami can’t get a young passer with above-average tools at the top of the draft, it’ll have to turn to free agency. As of this writing, Willis is the only passer that fits that description.

He’s got the Green Bay Packers connection to Sullivan and Jeff Hafley, and his tape from the past two seasons is legitimately good. Willis would easily be the most physically gifted QB the Dolphins have had in a long time.

If the Dolphins want the highest odds of hitting at the QB position, Willis is the answer.

2. Trade for a Reclamation Project

Just to be clear, there is a huge gap between the No. 1 and No. 2 ranking here.

However, this is our favorite option remaining. You can insert whatever young backup QB you want into this role — Anthony Richardson, Will Levis, Spencer Rattler or Jalen Milroe could qualify.

Trading for one of those players would likely cost a Day 3 pick at most, and perhaps even a Day 3 pick swap for someone like Levis. These QBs have the tools to be potential long-term starters, and the draft capital required to acquire them might be minimal.

3. Draft a Mid-Round QB

It was close between our second and third-ranked options, but the reclamation projects won out in the end, mostly because of cost.

The Dolphins likely would need to select Ty Simpson at pick 44 or someone like Garrett Nussmeier, Drew Allar, or your favorite mid-round option in the third round.

The Dolphins have a ton of holes on the roster, and although this wouldn’t be a bad strategy, I’d rather not spend top-100 draft capital on a QB unless I was confident they would be my franchise QB.

Would I rather trade a Day 3 pick for Levis or draft Nussmeier 75th overall? Levis would win that battle, based on where Miami’s roster situation stands.

4. Trade for a Current Backup

There are some interesting options in this category, like Davis Mills, Tanner McKee, Mac Jones (reports are indicating the 49ers won’t shop him), and Tyson Bagent.

There are several problems with this route, though. For starters, the draft capital to acquire these players might leak into the Day 2 range. Backup QBs are more valuable than ever, and teams aren’t just moving those guys.

Secondly, these players don’t have ideal profiles for long-term starters. Mills and Jones don’t have much development to squeeze out of their profiles, even if they are competent starters.

McKee, in theory, should have some room for development, but he’s also pretty unproven at this stage. Bagent is actually probably the closest to what we’re looking for in this group.

He’s 25 and showed some juice on some bad Bears teams. He’s now gotten a season to learn from Ben Johnson — the Dolphins could do worse than taking a swing there.

5. Draft a Late-Round QB

Figuring out where to slot this option is tricky. The chance a late-round QB turns into a long-term starter is incredibly low, but the cost being low makes this more appealing than a few other options.

Some options in this category include Taylen Green (Arkansas), Cole Payton (North Dakota State), Sawyer Robinson (Baylor), and Carson Beck (Miami). It's worth mentioning that Green played one season at Boise State where his offensive coordinator was new Dolphins QB coach Bush Hamdan.

This option becomes incredibly more appealing if it’s paired with another on our list. Say the team trades for Levis, keeps Ewers, and drafts Robinson. Those are three swings at young quarterbacks who could be the future.

However, this option falls down the list because in a world where this is the only thing the Dolphins do, it would be incredibly disappointing.

6. Sign a Cut Starter

This category is reserved for pretty much any starter who gets cut this offseason. The most likely candidates (outside of Miami’s own Tua Tagovailoa) are Kyler Murray and Geno Smith.

If these players are cut, the Dolphins likely wouldn’t have to pay them much, since their last team would cover most of the cost. Murray and Smith are at least talented enough to be franchise passers, and Murray is young enough to be a long-term option.

Still, neither player had a great 2025 season, and both kinda seem to be who they are at this point. Could Murray play better in an improved environment with a change scenary? Sure, but his limitations (size, injuries) won’t just vanish.

7. Sign a Veteran

Miami might end up in this market simply by process of elimination. Once Willis is off the board and the team rules out trades, there’s really no other pro-acquisition angle to pursue.

This list includes such exciting names like Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, Daniel Jones and Marcus Mariota. None of these players will be long-term answers for the Dolphins, which is why this is at the bottom of the list.

However, pairing a veteran with a couple of young players certainly isn’t a bad idea.

8. Trade for Derek Carr

Carr gets his own category because he’s a veteran, and the Dolphins would have to trade for him. This is by far the worst option the Dolphins could take this offseason.

Carr would cost compensation, is too old to be a long-term option, is pretty injury prone, and he’d be coming out of retirement after not playing at all in 2025. Is he better than Quinn Ewers? Probably, but not enough for the Dolphins to give up capital to get him.

Plus, the Dolphins would need to figure out a way to fit Carr’s contract under the cap. That process would not be fun for a team that’s already got a lot of salary cap hoops to jump through this offseason.

If the Saints release Carr, he’d land in category 6 (or 7?), which would make him a more realistic option.

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