Tua Tagovailoa Benched for Quinn Ewers as QB Makes NFL Debut for Dolphins vs. Browns

Amid one of his worst performances of the season, the Miami Dolphins decided to bench quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

During Miami's game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, head coach Mike McDaniel pulled Tagovailoa out of the game at the eight-minute mark of the fourth quarter as the Dolphins trailed by 25 points. Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers replaced him, marking his NFL debut.

Before being benched, Tagovailoa had thrown for just 100 yards on 12-of-23 passing. He also threw three interceptions for the second week in a row. Tagovailoa has recorded 1,313 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions after Sunday's performance, and the Dolphins are now 1-6 on the year following the 31-6 loss to the Browns.

Ewers, a seventh-round pick out of Texas, was given the role of backup quarterback just a few hours before kickoff against the Browns. He replaced Zach Wilson as Miami's QB2. Ewers finished Sunday's game with 53 yards on 5-of-8 passing.

It's hard to say whether McDaniel's decision to bring Tagovailoa out of the game will lead to a permanent change under center, but how he responds to the benching could be a factor.

The Dolphins and Tagovailoa have appeared to have some tension throughout the season, and things boiled over last week. After Miami's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Tagovailoa called out the team's leadership.

"I think it starts with the leadership and helping articulate that for the guys," Tagovailoa said after the game. "And then what we're expecting out of the guys, right? We're expecting this, are we getting that, are we not getting that? We have guys showing up to player-only meetings late, guys not showing up to player-only meetings. There's a lot that goes into that. Do we have to make that mandatory, do we not have to make this mandatory? So it's a lot of things of that nature that we've gotta get cleaned up, and it starts with the little things like that."

Tagovailoa later apologized for his comments, but it's clear he isn't happy with the way things are going.

If the Dolphins decide to bench Tagovailoa, he will be a very expensive backup. The 27-year-old is in his first year of a four-year, $212.4 million contract.