The writing may be smeared a bit, but it's on the wall. Tua Tagovailoa's time with the Miami Dolphins could be coming to an end after he was benched for the remainder of the 2025 season.
Head coach Mike McDaniel announced that seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers out of Texas will be the team's starter for the remaining three games on the schedule, and Tagovailoa will move to third-string with Zach Wilson, his backup all season, remaining in his role.
Tagovailoa spoke about the demotion following the team's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15, which could very well be his last in a Dolphins uniform.
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"Naturally, I'd say I'm disappointed," Tagovailoa said. "It's a normal human emotion. Outside of that, I gotta do my part. My role here right now is to help whoever the quarterback is going to be for this team, to lead this team, help him in whatever way I can to help the team win this game on Sunday."
It's been a tough go for Tagovailoa in his sixth season with the Dolphins. He leads the NFL with 15 interceptions, while throwing for 2,660 yards and 20 touchdowns in 14 games. The Dolphins have gone 6-8 during his starts this year.
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Tagovailoa threw for 253 yards with two touchdowns in the 28-15 loss to Pittsburgh, but he had just 65 passing yards with an interception before a fourth quarter in which Pittsburgh appeared to let off the gas defensively.
McDaniel noted after the game that his quarterback's play "was not good enough."
"Disappointed, I'm not happy about it," Tagovailoa said about his performance. "But something out of my control, I would say, is the biggest thing, and it's being honest with myself as well. ... I haven't been performing up to the level and the 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 led the franchise to extend him for four years on a deal worth $212.4 million with $167 million guaranteed.
But more concussion issues came up in 2024, though Tagovailoa led the league in completion percentage (72.9) in his 11 games. The Dolphins went 6-5 over that span but failed to reach the playoffs.
If the Dolphins were to release Tagovailoa and start from scratch at quarterback this offseason, it would cost them $99.2 million in dead cap space, though they could break it up over two years.
Ewers' first start in the NFL will be against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in Miami Gardens on Sunday.
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