Everything was on the table. And the table inevitably has turned.
The Dolphins have benched veteran quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, per multiple reports. He’ll be replaced by seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers.
The team will inevitably make it official soon enough, since Wednesday features the first full practice of the week — along with press conferences from the head coach and the starting quarterback.
It’s no surprise, even though it’s a little jarring to see one of the highest-paid players in football ($53.1 million per year) get sent to the bench. The performance was not good enough. Not even close. It was time to stop doubling down and to do the right thing, for the present and the future.
The move raises plenty of questions for the immediate future. We addressed several of them during Wednesday’s PFT Live. It will be a major topic until the Dolphins decide what to do with Tua for 2026.
For now, what they’re doing it taking the football out of his hands. And they’re going to find out whether Ewers can become a low-cost alternative for next season, and perhaps beyond.
The Dolphins are moving on from one of their veteran defenders.
According to NFL Media, Miami is releasing linebacker Matthew Judon.
Judon, 33, signed with the Dolphins on a one-year deal in August. He’s appeared in 13 games with three starts this season, playing 41 percent of defensive snaps and 34 percent of special teams snaps in games played.
He’s recorded 19 total tackles with one tackle for loss and three quarterback hits. He doesn’t have a sack yet this season.
In his 144 career games for the Ravens, Patriots, Falcons, and Dolphins, Judon has 72.0 career sacks with 95 tackles for loss and 177 QB hits.
Judon is subject to waivers.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is having the worst season of his career, and with Miami now mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, coach Mike McDaniel is facing questions about making a change at quarterback.
Tagovailoa’s numbers show a massive regression: With three games left in the season, he already has career highs in interceptions and sacks. His 15 interceptions this year are more than twice as many as the seven he threw last year — despite the fact that he threw more passes last year than he has this year.
Before Monday night’s ugly offensive showing in a loss to the Steelers, the Dolphins were on a four-game winning streak. But the team’s success was due largely to not relying on Tagovailoa to throw the ball. It’s not a coincidence that during the Dolphins’ four-game winning streak, Tagovailoa’s passing output was way down, while the Dolphins’ rushing production was way up. McDaniel was finding a winning game plan, and the plan was to win the game by not giving Tagovailoa opportunities to lose the game.
Tagovailoa has thrown more interceptions than any other quarterback in the NFL, and it’s not like he’s throwing those interceptions while making a lot of big plays in a high-risk, high-reward offense: Of all the quarterbacks in the NFL who have started every game this year, Tagovailoa has both the fewest passing yards and fewest passing touchdowns of anyone other than Titans rookie Cam Ward.
Moving on from Tagovailoa won’t be easy, as the Dolphins owe him $54 million guaranteed next year. But it’s hard to see how the Dolphins can move forward in 2026 with a quarterback who has played the way Tagovailoa has played in 2025.
Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick may be able to return in the last three games of the season after suffering a calf injury during Monday night’s loss to the Steelers.
Head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters in his Tuesday press conference that Fitzpatrick’s injury does not appear to be season-ending.
“I would file that in the week-to-week category,” McDaniel said, via Travis Wingfield of the team’s website.
In his first season back with the Dolphins, Fitzpatrick has started all 14 games for Miami. He’s recorded 82 total tackles with four for loss, recorded six passes defensed with an interception, and tallied the first sack of his career.
The Dolphins will finish the season with games against the Bengals, Buccaneers, and Patriots.
The Dolphins might have a different quarterback for their Week 16 game against the Bengals.
Head coach Mike McDaniel said after Monday night’s loss to the Steelers that he’d have to look at film of the game before commenting on the possibility of a quarterback change. The first question of Tuesday’s press conference was whether he thinks Tua Tagovailoa still gives the team the best chance to win.
“The quarterback play last night was not good enough and, so, for me, everything is on the table,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was 6-of-10 for 65 yards and an interception through the first three quarters of Monday’s 28-15 loss. He threw a pair of touchdowns and padded his stats once the team was down 28-3 in the fourth quarter, but the overall performance was a disappointing one, and the loss ended the Dolphins’ chances of making it to the postseason.
McDaniel said that he will spend the coming hours “trying to determine who gives us the best chance to win” and said he expects to have a decision on Wednesday. Zach Wilson and Quinn Ewers are the other quarterback options in Miami.
