A year before Quinn Ewers entered the NFL Draft, the sophomore helped out his teammates and threw to the receiving prospects during the University of Texas' Pro Day in 2024, with most NFL scouts looking at future first-rounder Xavier Worthy.
After the impressive throwing session, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel approached Ewers, complimented him and started the process of getting to know him. What no one knew at the time was that first impression would begin the Dolphins on a winding road that led to Ewers starting instead of Tua Tagovailoa on Sunday against the Bengals.
“This team needs convicted quarterback play,” McDaniel told reporters this week. “I thought Quinn gave us the best chance to do that and that’s why I did it.”
Ewers, who was in the building late into the night on Tuesday working with passing game coordinator and QBs coach Darrell Bevell, had a good week of practice and should be ready.
Miami’s franchise-altering decision this week thrust Ewers into the spotlight, as he’s likely to start the final three games after leapfrogging previous backup Zach Wilson. It also sets in motion a trajectory that potentially has Tagovailoa playing for a new team in 2026.
While no one can definitively say Tagovailoa will be elsewhere next season -- the Falcons, after all, kept Kirk Cousins as an expensive backup this year while having Michael Penix Jr. open the season as starter -- it is the most likely option.
Tagovailoa is fully guaranteed $54 million in 2026. Releasing him and splitting a $99.2 million dead cap hit over two seasons is a possibility. The preferred outcome for the Dolphins, assuming they move on, would be to trade him and eat a portion of the salary (rather than the entire thing). With a dearth of starting QBs, that’s certainly on the table.
The Dolphins will hire a new general manager this offseason, and that person will obviously have a strong say. Meanwhile, Ewers has a chance to stake his claim to the starting job next season in these three starts.
Over a struggling season, Tagovailoa played himself out of a job, missing reads, holding the ball and leading the NFL with 15 interceptions. One of McDaniel’s biggest messages has been conviction over perfection. In other words, aggressively take what the defense gives you, even if it isn’t perfect. If guys are open, be decisive and hit them.
That’s what he believes he’ll see with Ewers. McDaniel feels that with the way the offense needs to function, Ewers is the best option, and this week was the first time he definitively felt that.
For Ewers, this opportunity comes after a tumultuous draft process left a player most thought would be a second- or third-rounder available late into the draft.
Ewers was beat up in his final year at Texas, battling several injuries, and that hurt his stock.
And many of the teams picking QBs on Day 2 of the draft simply liked other signal-callers better -- the Saints took Tyler Shough in the second round; the Seahawks took Jalen Milroe in the third. By the time the final day of the draft rolled around, teams shied away from a high-profile college QB as their developmental late-rounder. NIL made college QBs even bigger stars than they were, and Ewers was in national commercials. Not everyone wants that for a reserve.
Finally, as the sixth round turned into the seventh, agent Ron Slavin was communicating with Dolphins co-director of player personnel Adam Engroff, who strenuously pointed out that Ewers was the highest player on their board by far and was a great system fit. Eventually, the Dolphins took the leap and selected Ewers, which Engroff communicated to Slavin in a text. That led to pandemonium at the Ewers watch party.
On Sunday, it all culminates on the field.