The Miami Dolphins are considering a quarterback change going into Week 16.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel revealed the team is mulling over replacing Tua Tagovailoa under center ahead of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“The QB play last night was not good enough, and everything is on the table," McDaniel said.
It's not hard to see why the Dolphins might want to make a switch, as Tagovailoa was awful on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers and he has been bad for much of the season, and even during the team's recent four-game winning streak.
Tagovailoa has always shown warts, but those warts have been much more evident this season and last, and especially in 2025.
Should Dolphins start Zach Wilson or Quinn Ewers?
At this point, it's worth giving either one a shot over Tagovailoa, as it's quite clear the veteran signal-caller is not the answer in Miami and he amounts to a dead end for the franchise.
The Dolphins might as well see what they have in Wilson and/or Ewers.
It's quite the fall from grace for Tua, who was definitely never elite but was at least an above-average quarterback in years past. Now, he looks like a shell of the player who garnered a $212 million contract.
It would make more sense to give the rookie Ewers a look the rest of the season, seeing as how the book is already written on Wilson, although the former No. 2 overall pick is just 26 years old, so he's still young enough to have some hope.
Either way, this is just the latest sign that Tagovailoa is not long for Miami.
The problem for the Dolphins is there is no easy way to cut ties with the veteran quarterback anytime soon.
No team is going to trade for his enormous contract, and cutting Tua would give the Dolphins dead-cap hits of $99.2 million and $31 million in the next two seasons.
The first reasonable out in Tua's deal comes in 2028, when releasing him would lead to the Dolphins taking on a still robust $18.4 million dead-cap charge.
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