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The writing may be smudged a bit, but it’s on the wall — Tua Tagovailoa’s time with the Miami Dolphins may be coming to an end after being benched for the rest of the 2025 season.
Head coach Mike McDaniel announced seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers of Texas will be the team’s starter for the remaining three games on the schedule, and Tagovailoa will move to the third string with Zach Wilson, his backup all season, remaining in his role.
Tagovailoa addressed the demotion following the team’s Week 15 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, which could very well be his last in a Dolphins uniform.
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Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa (1) walks off the field after a failed two-point conversion attempt in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 15, 2025. (Photo: Justin Berl/AP)
“Obviously I’d say I’m disappointed,” Tagovailoa said. “It’s a normal human emotion. Other than that, I have to do my part, my role here right now is to help the quarterback to be for this team, to lead this team, help him in any way I can to help the team win this game on Sunday.”
It’s been a rough go for Tagovailoa in his sixth season with the Dolphins. He leads the NFL with 15 interceptions while throwing for 20 touchdowns and 2,660 yards over 14 games. The Dolphins have gone 6-8 under his starts this year.
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Tagovailoa was able to muster 253 passing yards with two touchdowns in the 28-15 loss to Pittsburgh, but he had just 65 passing yards through three quarters with one interception prior to a fourth quarter in which Pittsburgh appeared to let off the gas defensively.
McDaniel noted after the game that his quarterback’s play “wasn’t good enough.”
Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins looks on prior to the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on December 15, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
“Disappointed, I’m not happy about it,” Tagovailoa said of his performance. “But something out of my control. I would say the biggest thing, and that’s also being honest with myself, had been my performance. I haven’t performed up to the level and capabilities that I have in the past.”
It was just two years ago that Tagovailoa led the NFL in passing yards (4,624) while throwing 29 touchdowns in an 11-6 season for Miami. That ultimately led to the franchise extending him four years on a deal worth $212.4 million with $167 million guaranteed.
But more concussion issues cropped up in 2024, even though Tagovailoa led the league in completion percentage (72.9) over his 11 games. The Dolphins went 6-5 over that span, but failed to make the playoffs.
Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins looks to pass during the first quarter of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on December 15, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
If the Dolphins were to release Tagovaviloa and start over at the quarterback position this offseason, it would cost them $99.2 million in dead cap space, even if they could break it up over two years.
Meanwhile, Ewers’ first NFL start will be against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals at Miami Gardens on Sunday.
