First take a look at the attainable 2026 Tua-less Dolphins was not a reasonably one

[ad_1] So perhaps Tua Tagovailoa isn’t the one one holding again the 2025 Dolphins. And perhaps Quinn Ewers isn’t the reply for 2026, both.

Hours after stories indicated that Tagovailoa can be gone from the roster for the 2026 season whereas head coach Mike McDaniel would stay, the Dolphins suffered one in every of their worst defeats of the yr. Cincinnati merely dragged Miami up and down the sphere, scoring 35 consecutive factors en path to a simple 45-21 victory.

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Tagovailoa, by no means essentially the most constant participant within the NFL, has spiraled inexorably downward this season. He leads the league in interceptions with 15, he’s posting a career-low Quarterback Score, and he’s regressed in nearly each statistical class.

Consequently, earlier this week, McDaniel demoted Tagovailoa to third-string emergency quarterback and promoted Ewers, the rookie quarterback who led Texas to back-to-back CFP berths, to the beginning position. That apparently didn’t go over effectively with Zach Wilson, Miami’s third quarterback, however McDaniel mentioned he believed Ewers gave Miami one of the best probability to win.

"I am on the lookout for conviction in quarterback play," McDaniel mentioned earlier this week. "On condition that he is a rookie, I feel he'll play the place most convicted ... I wanted extra conviction from the quarterback."

Just about your complete Dolphins group wanted to be convicted — and jailed — after Sunday’s sport. For many of the first two quarters, Miami hung with Cincinnati, buoyed by Devon Achane's 48-yard landing run. With 2:30 left within the first half, Miami held a 14-10 lead.

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However then it acquired ugly quick, and for a protracted, very long time. Joe Burrow led the Bengals to 5 consecutive touchdowns. Ewers and the Dolphins turned the ball over on three of the primary 4 possessions of the second half, and the Bengals turned each one in every of them into seven factors.

Ewers, a seventh-round choice, completed the day with a closely garbage-time-inflated 260 yards passing on 20 of 30 makes an attempt, with no touchdowns and two interceptions. It is clearly unfair to make any form of judgment on his health for the job after just a few days of working with the starters in follow, however he understandably has a protracted method to go to be able to stake his declare on a beginning job.

Sunday's loss to the Bengals was yet one more flip in Miami's wild 2025 season. After beginning the season 1-6, with that lone win coming in opposition to the much more hapless Jets, McDaniel’s tenure in Miami appeared measurable in minutes. However then the Dolphins ran off 5 wins in six video games, together with a 30-13 victory over the Payments that ranks as one of many yr’s most unbelievable wins. Abruptly, the Dolphins have been on the fringes of the playoff dialog, and McDaniel was again on stable floor.

Tagovailoa continued to battle, nevertheless, forcing McDaniel's hand. And now the Dolphins themselves have an actual drawback. Tagovailoa is likely one of the highest-paid quarterbacks within the league, and nonetheless has three years remaining on a contract that pays him in extra of $53 million a yr. The numbers are, as at all times, advanced, but when the Dolphins have been to chop Tagovailoa after this yr, they'd undergo an astounding useless cap hit of $99 million. Many choices, few clear solutions for Miami forward.