Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has struggled this season, most recently despite the team winning four of its last five games. During that span, he completed 76 of 113 pass attempts for 881 yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions, averaging 176.2 yards per game. Tagovailoa had a rough outing against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night, throwing for 253 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception on 28 attempts, as the Dolphins were eliminated from playoff contention.
During Tuesday’s press conference, Mike McDaniel was asked about the possibility of benching their $212.4 million quarterback. The head coach didn’t rule it out and hinted that all options are on the table.
“The quarterback play last night was not good enough. So for me, everything is on the table,” McDaniel said, via Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network.
“I think the biggest thing is that my job … is to do the best thing for the football team,” McDaniel added. “A lot of times, that’s doing the hard thing, but regardless, it’s always with that same best interest in mind, which is what gives us the best chance to win the game whoever the next opponent is.”
Miami Dolphins make major decision at quarterback for Week 16
According to Ian Rapoport, the Dolphins have benched Tua Tagovailoa, and Quinn Ewers will start at quarterback over Zach Wilson for Week 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals. As a result, the seventh-round rookie will make his NFL starting debut, having been active for one game and serving as the emergency third quarterback for the rest. Meanwhile, Tua (likely) ends his sixth season in Miami having thrown for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, while averaging 6.9 yards per attempt, 10.2 yards per completion, 190 yards per game, along with an 88.5 passer rating, and a 36.7 QBR.
Major move for the #Dolphins: They are benching starting QB Tua Tagovailoa and starting rookie QB Quinn Ewers against the #Bengals, per The Insiders.
Coach Mike McDaniel said all options were on the table to improve, and he chose the option than leads to a new QB. pic.twitter.com/QpNgnudze6
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 17, 2025
What now for Tua?
Tua Tagovailoa’s benching could signal the end of his time with Miami, though moving on from him this offseason would be tricky and carry significant cap ramifications. Because he was on the roster past March 15, 2025, his 2026 salary of $54 million is fully guaranteed, and the Dolphins would have to split his $99.2 million dead cap into 2027 since they would lose $42.8 million of cap space with a pre-June 1st cut. The team could instead designate Tua as a post-June 1st cut, losing $11 million cap space while incurring a $67.4 million dead cap hit in 2026 and $31.8 million in 2027.
The Denver Broncos set a precedent during the 2024 offseason by cutting Russell Wilson and incurring a historic $85 million in dead cap. They designated him as a post-June 1st cut and absorbed a $53 million dead cap hit in 2024 and $32 million in 2025. So, cutting Tua is possible.
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