Mike McDaniel announced Tuesday that Zach Wilson will continue being the Miami Dolphins‘ backup quarterback moving forward, leaving Quinn Ewers third on the depth chart that has Tua Tagovailoa as starter.
“For now, until competition proves otherwise, the best thing for our football team, in relief duty for a game, or injury, is for Zach [Wilson] to come in and be No. 2,” McDaniel said, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
However, Ewers shouldn’t lose hope on potentially making his way back to the QB2 spot, as McDaniel said his decision is subject to change depending on performance: “That could change over time. I’m not looking to change that until they show me it needs to be changed.”
Selected in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Texas, Ewers has worked behind Tagovailoa and Wilson since preseason, but a sudden change in Week 7 suggested he could be up for a bigger role after all.
Tua Tagovailoa (left), Zach Wilson (center), and Quinn Ewers warming up.
Ewers’ backup role behind Tua was short-lived
McDaniel named Ewers backup for the Cleveland Browns game, demoting Wilson to the QB3 spot, and the rookie ended up finishing the game instead of Tagovailoa, who threw three interceptions in an embarrassing 31-6 loss.
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Even though it was a small sample size, Ewers’ few snaps in Cleveland weren’t convincing either. He went 5 of 8 for 53 yards in a game that already was out of reach for Miami, and McDaniel clarified in his postgame press conference that naming Ewers backup was a decision made specifically for the Browns game.
Far from benching Tagovailoa, McDaniel decided not to remove his starting quarterback but did change the pecking order behind him again. Wilson returned to the backup QB role in Week 8, when Tua and the Dolphins showed their best version of the year for a blowout 34-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
With Tagovailoa completing 20 of 26 passes for 205 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, McDaniel may have seen exactly what he needed from his starting QB. And it appears that Wilson has also made an impression in practice to be the next in line.
Wilson has Dolphins’ confidence despite past struggles
After a 2024 season where having Skylar Thompson (initially) as backup proved costly, Miami decided to try its luck with Wilson this offseason. Even if the BYU product has so far left a lot to be desired in the NFL, the Dolphins seemingly believe he can still be a dependable alternative to Tagovailoa.
Drafted second overall by the New York Jets in 2021, Wilson has yet to prove the Jets were right in making such a decision. New York gave up on him long ago, but McDaniel still sees potential in him. Not as a starter, but at least as the first option in case Tua has to sit out. Needless to say, that’s better than being the third-string QB or not even having an active roster spot at all.
