Chris Perkins: Dolphins QB room serves as metaphor for franchise disarray

Chris Perkins, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Dec 19, 2025

Published in Football

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — It was a strange scene at Miami Dolphins practice Thursday. Starting rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers was throwing passes as veteran backups Tua Tagovailoa and Zach Wilson stood in the background and looked on.

It served as a stark reminder that the Dolphins’ quarterback room is an on-the-nose metaphor for the entire organization — low-key disarray brought on by bad decisions.

What does that mean? Well, for this purpose it means the Dolphins need a major rebuild at quarterback.

Think about it.

The two veteran, first-round quarterbacks — Tagovailoa, the No. 5 pick of the 2020 draft by the Dolphins, and Wilson, the No. 2 pick of the 2021 draft by the New York Jets — are, to be politically correct, frustrated that they’re not starting. But it’s not a major organizational concern because the Dolphins (6-8) are out of the playoff race and both Tua and Wilson are likely on their way out the door. It’s a good bet neither will be here in 2026.

The team subtly admitted to two major quarterback mistakes Wednesday — extending Tua’s contract with a four-year, $212 million deal in 2024, and signing Wilson to a one-year, $6 million deal in 2025.

The new spin on Tua’s extension is that ex-general manager Chris Grier is the one most responsible and it’s one reason he’s gone. Tua told us that McDaniel lobbied hard for that extension. But, whatever. Blame the dead guy.

There’s no spin on Wilson’s acquisition. The Dolphins, who told us in the offseason that Wilson was a “direct, calculated target” are now telling us it was a wrong choice.

And then there’s Ewers, the seventh-rounder who was the 231st pick of the 2025 draft. He’s the new starter, as McDaniel explained.

“The decision is complicated but simple,” McDaniel said Wednesday. “The simple piece is I think Quinn gives this team the best chance to win.”

What’s the complicated part?

The Dolphins, by their actions, are telling us that the unproven, low-round draftee guy gives them a better chance to win than a couple of guys selected among the top five picks in the draft.

I have nothing against Ewers, a fellow Texan. He’s a good guy. I wish him well. I hope he thrives and has a great career.

But what’s the end game with Ewers this season?

Are the Dolphins hoping the third-string quarterback shows them enough that he can enter next season as the starter?

Are they hoping he shows them enough that he can enter training camp competing to be the starter?

“I don’t think it’s necessarily what we’re looking for in the three games,” offensive coordinator Frank Smith said. “It’s what puts us in the best position to beat Cincinnati? I think that’s what we’re trying to really focus on is that we had a tough one up in Pittsburgh that didn’t go the way we expected and then now how do we regroup and come out and play the way we expect this week against Cincinnati?”

McDaniel promoted Ewers to be the backup for about 24 hours. He was promoted the night before the Cleveland game and demoted the following week. But that’s no surprise considering the quarterback situation has been puzzling for two years.

You’ll recall the 2024 offseason when the Dolphins had an overhyped backup quarterback battle between Skylar Thompson and Mike White. Thompson won, but it turned out neither was qualified to be a No. 2 quarterback in this league. It was yet another bad quarterback decision by an organization that’s been haunted by bad quarterback decisions.

You could argue the 2024 season was sabotaged by the backup quarterback deficiency. Tua missed six games and the Dolphins, using a combination of quarterbacks among Thompson, Tim Boyle, and Tyler “Snoop” Huntley, went 2-4 in those games and finished the season with an 8-9 record.

There’s a chance that among the three quarterbacks sitting in that quarterback room today, none is the starter or primary backup next season. That’s crazy. That’s a major failure.

But it’s not a surprise.

The Dolphins’ quarterback situation has been built on a foundation of sand for the entire McDaniel era.

The Dolphins have always asked way too much of Tagovailoa, who, at his peak in 2023, was a good quarterback but had obvious limitations. He needed help from a strong run game and a play-making defense. Neither was ever provided.

It was an unfortunate decision to put the bulk of the offensive hopes on Tua’s left arm, and have Wilson serve as his backup. It’s why the Dolphins’ quarterback room is in low-key disarray, and why the Dolphins now need a major rebuild at quarterback.