Tua Benching Reportedly 'Not Off the Table' for Dolphins, Quinn Ewers Could Play

Tua Tagovailoa's $212 million contract might not be enough to stop the Miami Dolphins from turning to another quarterback.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, potentially benching Tagovailoa "is not off the table at some point this season."

Rapoport noted Tagovailoa's "play would have to really fall off" for the Dolphins to hand the ball to former New York Jets starter Zach Wilson or rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers.

Both Wilson and Ewers could be considered as alternate options if Tagovailoa is benched, Rapoport reported.

Although Wilson is currently ahead of Ewers on the depth chart, "the possibility that Ewers could play meaningful snaps if Tagovailoa continues to struggle should not be discounted," Rapoport wrote.

The report comes days after the Dolphins announced the departure of former general manager Chris Grier following a 2-7 start to the 2025 season.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a statement the Dolphins would continue "evaluating all areas of our football operation."

That has not yet included any changes regarding head coach Mike McDaniel, although Rapoport said Thursday his "status is firmly up in the air."

The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported Saturday that "Ross is not simply holding on to McDaniel as a placeholder before an offseason shake-up but genuinely hopes to see McDaniel keep this group competing."

Tagovailoa has started every game for the Dolphins so far this season, although McDaniel already benched him once.

That benching took place after Tagovailoa threw two interceptions, including a pick-six, in a blowout Week 7 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 19. Ewers stepped in to finish out the fourth quarter.

"Before watching the tape, I don't want to over-conclude anything. But you turn the ball over, it's the number one indicator of wins and losses, and it negatively affects the team," McDaniel said after the Week 7 loss, adding that at least one or two of Tagovailoa's turnovers had been "extremely preventable."

"We'll watch the tape, and change our style of play if we have to. Everything's on the table," McDaniel said.

McDaniel later confirmed Tagovailoa would remain QB1 going forward, but with the expectation that "we don't throw 10 picks."

Tagovailoa has since started two more games, including a Week 8 road win over the Atlanta Falcons and a Week 9 loss to the visiting Baltimore Ravens on Thursday.

He has so far earned a career-low quarterback rating of 43.6 while completing 67.9 percent of his passes for 1,779 yards, 15 passing touchdowns and an NFL-high 11 interceptions.

Ewers and Wilson have meanwhile been competing to secure the top backup role behind Tagovailoa, although NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe that Wilson had beaten out Ewers for the job ahead of Week 9.

Should the Dolphins decide to bench Tagovailoa, the next question would be whether he will still be on Miami's roster by the time $54 million of his 2026 salary becomes guaranteed on March 14.

At least for now, it seems like McDaniel will once more be making the call as to Tagovailoa's status ahead of a Week 10 matchup with the visiting Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Nov. 9.