Mike McDaniel isn’t shaking things up yet. Despite the Miami Dolphins‘ 1-6 start to the 2025 NFL season, the head coach is sticking to Tua Tagovailoa as his starting quarterback, keeping Quinn Ewers and Zach Wilson on the sidelines.
McDaniel confirmed his decision during his Monday press conference, only a day after Tagovailoa threw three interceptions in the Dolphins’ embarrassing 31-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 7.
Questions about Tagovailoa’s job security emerged throughout the season as the Dolphins got off to a terrible start, but his seat looked hotter than ever after the disappointing outing in Cleveland.
The fact that McDaniel named Ewers as the backup QB for the Browns game and ended up benching Tua to let the rookie play the final snaps fueled speculation about a potential QB change, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
Tua Tagovailoa throwing a pass against the Browns.
McDaniel not benching Tagovailoa despite ugly situation
Tagovailoa will once again be under center when the Dolphins play the Atlanta Falcons at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, October 26, in Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season, hoping to get back to winning ways after three consecutive losses.
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The Alabama Crimson Tide product, for whom the Dolphins used a fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, has thrown for 1,313 yards with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this year, which gives him a 42.9 QBR according to ESPN.
The fact that McDaniels isn’t benching Tagovailoa may have to do with the financial commitment Miami made to the quarterback in 2024, when it handed the former first-rounder a lucrative, four-year contract worth $212.4 million to keep him in South Florida through 2028.
Where is the 2023 version of Tagovailoa?
Tagovailoa received that extension after a promising 2023 season, where had a passer rating of 101.1 after throwing for 4,624 yards with 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 17 regular season games. The Dolphins finished with an 11-6 record that year before losing to eventual Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card.
However, that version of Tua disappeared after the deal. An early concussion forced him to miss time in 2024 before another injury prevented him from finishing the season, which saw the Dolphins miss the playoffs with an 8-9 record.
In 2025, the Dolphins brought in new backups for Tagovailoa, signing a former second-overall pick in Wilson before drafting Ewers out of Texas with a seventh-round selection.
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Ewers, Wilson still competing for QB2 job
While Wilson has so far left a lot to be desired when given the chance to play in the NFL, Ewers is still making his first steps in the league but lacks significant action. Even though Ewers moved up one spot in the depth chart on Sunday, McDaniel said postgame that decision was specific for the Browns game.
On Monday, the Dolphins head coach left the battle for the QB2 spot wide open. However, he made it clear that he expects to make a final decision about that position soon, as he wants to avoid making it a “week to week thing.“
Nothing changes
In the meantime, Tagovailoa will continue to lead the struggling Dolphins’ offense. And with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross reportedly not planning to fire McDaniel anytime soon, things remain practically unchanged in Miami regardless of the team’s disastrous record. Stranger things have happened, but in the NFL, this is still surprising.
