Mike McDaniel makes Dolphins starting quarterback announcement for Week 17

The Miami Dolphins might have begun the post-Tua Tagovailoa era in Week 16.

That's because the Dolphins benched Tua in favor of rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, and now it's reasonable to believe Tagovailoa might be gone in 2026.

Ewers struggled by throwing two picks in the blowout loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, but he did complete 20-of-30 passes for 260 yards overall.

It wasn't a great performance, but it wasn't a terrible one, either, and Ewers showed enough to garner a longer look over the final two games.

And that's basically what Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said, per ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques.

While he still has to review Ewers' tape, McDaniel said what he saw on the field on Sunday will likely be enough to give the seventh-round pick another start.

"That's kind of how I had it in my mind during the game," McDaniel said. "I thought he earned some opportunities to continue to develop. I was happy how he handled the position -- that's not easy. And I think that's what's frustrating [about the loss] is it would be a lot better if it was on the rookie quarterback, and I don't think it was."

It's quite clear the Dolphins aren't going to turn back to Tua, who was actually inactive and the emergency third quarterback on Sunday.

The other option is fellow signal-caller Zach Wilson, who served as Ewers' backup.

However, the book is already written on Wilson and it makes sense to give the rookie a chance instead to see if maybe he can be a long-term solution as the Dolphins prepare to look for their next starting quarterback.

But cementing himself in just three games is going to be extremely difficult to do, especially with the Dolphins bringing in at least a new general manager in 2026.

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