Why Ewers Over Wilson and Other QB Questions

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel went with the rookie over the free agent veteran after benching Tua Tagovailoa.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Zach Wilson (0) warms up before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

There were just so many questions following the seismic announcement this week that the Miami Dolphins were benching starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and promoting rookie seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers to the top spot.

Head coach Mike McDaniel explained the decision as best he could, saying he felt Ewers would give the Dolphins the best chance to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, and narrowing it down to saying he wanted his quarterback to play with conviction.

The answer was what you would expect from a head coach who tries to be as transparent as possible with the media, but also isn't about to publicly criticize his players or reveal organizational secrets or plans.

Because of that, there still are some pertinent questions that remain unanswered, so we'll do our best to provide the answers along with the explanation as to why McDaniel simply couldn't go there.

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST REASON FOR THE TUA BENCHING?

The one factor that could be involved and maybe is as significant as anything else is that the Dolphins want to see how Ewers handles starting assignments for the remainder of the 2025 season.

There's no major downside to that idea, really, because the Dolphins already have been eliminated from playoff contention, and how Ewers performs could determine part of the team's plans at quarterback for 2026.

If Ewers balls out, then maybe the Dolphins will decide he can be at least the No. 2 quarterback for next season, if not compete for the starting job. If he flops, then the Dolphins will know they have to make sure to have two other competent quarterbacks on the roster.

Why this isn't something McDaniel can say publicly is that it sends the message to his players that winning no longer remains the primary goal for the rest of 2025 because it's taking a back seat to the Ewers evaluation — and very few coaches, if any, would make that admission.

HOW DOES THE QB SWITCH RELATE TO McDANIEL'S JOB STATUS?

McDaniel has been asked several times by the media about his conversations with owner Stephen Ross, and McDaniel always has restricted his comments to revealing that Ross shared his disappointment after losses.

McDaniel did say that Ross did not dictate the QB switch, but there's one important fact that McDaniel hasn't shared and wouldn't share.

What, if anything, has Ross told him about his job status beyond this season?

In light of the switch, is it possible that Ross already has told McDaniel he'll be back in 2026, and the organization needs to start doing some planning for next season?

That certainly would be a logical explanation for the QB switch because if McDaniel needs to win down the stretch to keep his job, wouldn't Tua — as much as he's struggling these days — still represent a better, safer option than Ewers?

Remember that while Tagovailoa didn't exactly light it up in the weeks before the Pittsburgh game Monday night, the Dolphins still did win four games in a row.

WHY EWERS OVER WILSON?

This is one question that has a lot of fans puzzled because it was Wilson, not Ewers, who was the backup to Tagovailoa for every game this season except for the one at Cleveland in Week 7.

And then McDaniel indicated that after that game, there would be a competition of sorts for the backup job, and Wilson came out on top.

So why isn't he starting?

One explanation could be that McDaniel had more trust in the veteran being able to answer the call in the middle of a game because of the experience factor, but Ewers offers more upside with a full week of preparation as a starter.

And then there was this nugget out of The Joe Rose Show from NFL analyst Brian Baldinger, who suggested Wilson's work ethic and preparation are less than ideal.

"I think the reason why they put Quinn Ewers in front of him, they saw his work ethic and what he's about," Baldinger said of Wilson. "I don't think he's going to be in this league very long. I know he's the second pick in the draft, but you're not going to find very many people compliment Zach Wilson and what he does to get ready for a game."

Remember that Wilson, the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, is somebody McDaniel said he had targeted from the start of free agency to come in as the No. 2 quarterback behind Tua, and the Dolphins gave him $6 million guaranteed.

That the Dolphins would bypass him like this clearly is not a good look when it comes to that free agent signing, and if Baldinger's suggestion indeed played a role in Ewers getting the nod against Cincinnati, you can understand why McDaniel wouldn't want to divulge that publicly.

The Dolphins not giving Wilson an audition over the final three games also makes it hard to believe they'll bring him back in 2026 after he signed a one-year contract with a void year.