Good Luck Quinn Ewers!

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

As I have alluded to elsewhere, I wonder how much of Tua's alarming drop in form is due to injury and physical fitness?

He hasn't been on the injury report.  So if what you are saying is true the Dolphins should lose a draft pick.

[masterfins]

I think it was a good 1st NFL game for Quinn Ewers.  He looked comfortable in the pocket and made some nice throws.

[Downunder Dolphan]

After reading more about Miami's salary cap situation, I think we are likely cutting Tua before the season next year and eating the dead cap money regardless of what Ewers does in the next 3 games. All the talk about it being impossible to cut him is just not true. It's gonna hurt there's no question about that, but it's doable. There will be no Hill or Chubb or Sanders next year to save cap space and probably not any high priced free agents to replace them either. I think they'll try to restructure Minkah's contract to move some money to 2027 and beyond since he played well this year. Might be a few others that get an extension again to save cap space in 2026. Wilson, Ewers and most likely a rookie QB are going to be the QB's next year in my opinion and it will just be a matter of who comes out on top. They will keep Wilson to be the backup if either Ewers or the rookie start and I think there's a good possibility that happens.

2026 is going to be a rebuilding year, but by 2027 Miami will have solved their cap issues and will be back in the black. Rip the band-aid off and let the healing begin. 2026 could be a bumpy ride, but it's been that way for decades mostly. Give the new GM a chance to rebuild the roster and let's see just how good of a coach McDaniel really is. If he can get them through 2026 without it being a total disaster 2-15 season or something he'll be back in 2027, but if not he'll be gone too and the Dolphins will have one of the top draft choices to land a new QB and the sun will start to shine again in 2027. I think this was all decided this week and prompted the decision to sit Tua. Putting him 3rd string is to ensure he doesn't get hurt before they can cut him or trade him. It's unlikely that anyone will trade for him, but putting him on ice till then is just a smart business move. In the mean time you get a look at Ewers and see what he has, but I think the decision to cut Tua has already been made.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/miami-dolphins/cap/_/year/2026
https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/miami-dolphins

Without any moves at all going into to 2026, the Dolphins are already carrying over $35M in dead cap money (primarily for Ramsey and Armstead).

The potential dead cap hit from cutting Tyreek would be about $28M. For Chubb it would be nearly $24M (but I think the latter move would be less likely as it's far less of a saving, and he's far less of a headache).

A $99M dead cap hit for Tua would be suicidal, especially if Hill is cut and there's already over $63M in dead money. There would be no money to re-sign our better players, and none to attract any good ones from elsewhere either. If you thought the last two years were bad, they would be just foreplay for this. Whoever is supposed to be directing this rudderless ship is staring down the barrel of a possible 0-17 season and half empty stadiums... McDaniel and anyone else involved won't survive it.

Yes 2027 would be a clean slate... for the new people coming in who will have to rebuild everything starting from square one.

[CF DolFan]

I think it was a good 1st NFL game for Quinn Ewers.  He looked comfortable in the pocket and made some nice throws.

Me too. He never panicked and even his INTs were not horrible. The first was even pass interference but that's going to happen. With actual practice, hopefully he makes improvements each week. I think it will be interesting to see him in play in a cold game against New England.

The sad part is I'm told from people at the game that neither coach, QB coach, nor Tua went over to him after his interceptions. Hopefully they are coaching him up.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

The sad part is I'm told from people at the game that neither coach, QB coach, nor Tua went over to him after his interceptions. Hopefully they are coaching him up.

I doubt everyone is abandoning him.  If Tua and Wilson are bitter at him for starting over them, I can understand that.  But the more likely scenario for why the QB coach didn't immediately go up to him would be that at some time in the past he mentioned that after throwing an int or fumbling the ball he prefers a minute or two alone process what happened before receiving coaching or words of encouragement and the QB coach was honoring that request.  I have no inside knowledge of how Quinn processes stuff, it is just I think that Darrell Bevell not doing everything he can to make Quinn successful is highly unlikely. 

[CF DolFan]

I would think so too. That's why it seemed odd to me. I also wondered if they are only allowing one person to coach him up so as to keep it simple and not put a bunch of voices in his head.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I also wondered if they are only allowing one person to coach him up so as to keep it simple and not put a bunch of voices in his head.

That should be the case with every player on every team.  Coordinator, head coach, and positional coach might each have unique insights but to be successful you need to pick one to be the one to deliver the message.  On a similar venue any time a parent starts a sentence with, "I don't care what your coach is telling you do it the way I ...."  the parent is setting the kid up for failure. 

[Pappy13]

A $99M dead cap hit for Tua would be suicidal, especially if Hill is cut and there's already over $63M in dead money. There would be no money to re-sign our better players, and none to attract any good ones from elsewhere either. If you thought the last two years were bad, they would be just foreplay for this. Whoever is supposed to be directing this rudderless ship is staring down the barrel of a possible 0-17 season and half empty stadiums... McDaniel and anyone else involved won't survive it.

The $99M dead cap hit for Tua would be split over 2 years. I think about $60M would hit in 2026 which is only a couple million over keeping him on the roster I believe. The only reason to keep him on the roster in 2026 is if he's going to be your starter, otherwise you might as well cut him, it hurts about the same toward the cap either way. I believe the Dolphins have already made the decision to move on from Tua which is why they benched him and moved him to the emergency QB spot. The only reason I can see to move him into the emergency QB spot is to keep him healthy, but the question you have to ask is are you keeping him healthy because you want him to start for you in 2026 or because you want to hold onto the possibility that you could trade him before the 2026 season kicks off?

[Downunder Dolphan]

The $99M dead cap hit for Tua would be split over 2 years. I think about $60M would hit in 2026 which is only a couple million over keeping him on the roster I believe.

That depends on when the cut is. If it's before June 1st, it's the full $99M upfront in 2026.

If we cut him post June 1st, it is split over the two years - about $67.4M in 2026 and another $31.8M in 2027 (so a third of the poison is carried into the next season, which otherwise would be a fairly clean slate to start with).

That's still a massive burden for a guy not in the building, either way. We're wearing that hit regardless because of the way Grier set up the contract, no matter when we cut him or if we trade him before next season (which let's face it, no team in their right mind would take on his contract without us chipping in significant money and/or draft picks).

It defeats the purpose of getting rid of him for 2026. It's cheaper to have him ride the bench for 2026, and then cut him before the 2027 season (a post June 1st move would cost only $13.4M in dead money).

That's over $46M we would be saving, which is invaluable for the inevitable rebuild.

[masterfins]

Very good 2nd game for Ewers.  No interceptions and two TD's is great, they didn't ask him to do a lot, just like they had been with Tua, but he stepped up in a few instances.  Granted Tampa doesn't have a powerhouse defense, but a win like this is a good confidence booster for Ewers.  He really looked comfortable in the pocket and put some zip on his passes.  Next week should be interesting, the game is at 4:25 so it will be colder.  Also, it will be at the same time as the Denver game so that will mean the Patriots could get the #1 seed if they win and Denver loses.  If Ewers has a decent game it will pretty much guarantee Miami won't be looking to draft another QB.

[CF DolFan]

Both of his touchdowns were very good plays as well as his run to keep the clock alive in the 4th quarter. Mike kind of handcuffed him after we got the two score lead. Either way, I'll say he hasn't done anything to prove to me he is a franchise player for the QB postion but he also has shown that he isn't. I'll take that as a win right now.

I saw one of the ESPN guys talking about Ewers and he said one of the reaosns he dropped was because he lacked arm strength. There were always rumors he was playing hurt but if true, he seems to have overcome that injury as his arm is definitely strong enough for the NFL.

[Pappy13]

It defeats the purpose of getting rid of him for 2026. It's cheaper to have him ride the bench for 2026, and then cut him before the 2027 season (a post June 1st move would cost only $13.4M in dead money).

It's cheaper, but it's not necessarily a positive to have him around as a backup. He's saying all the right stuff right now as the backup, but a whole year of riding the bench would not be a good thing for Tua or the Dolphins. He would be a distraction that the Dolphins don't need. It's best for Tua if they cut him and give him a chance to find a new team and the Dolphins don't need him around muddying up the water. Cut him and be done with it and start fresh with a new GM and new QB and start the rebuild one year earlier. Honestly I think that would be better in the long run then the cap savings. Ewers has already shown enough in his 2 starts to conclude that the Dolphins are no worse off without Tua. His spot on the roster would be better served by someone like a rookie.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

It defeats the purpose of getting rid of him for 2026. It's cheaper to have him ride the bench for 2026, and then cut him before the 2027 season (a post June 1st move would cost only $13.4M in dead money).

It might make sense to make him a pre-June 1 cut for 2026.  Does anybody really believe there exists a any sequence of actions that would allow the Dolphins to leapfrog BOTH NEP and Bills in 2026?  If not, then prioritize what puts the Dolphins in the best shape for 2027 in terms of cap space (and maybe pick up a top 5 draft pick and a 4th place schedule)  Wouldn't be popular with fans for the year but would put them in the best position long term.     

[Downunder Dolphan]

It's cheaper, but it's not necessarily a positive to have him around as a backup. He's saying all the right stuff right now as the backup, but a whole year of riding the bench would not be a good thing for Tua or the Dolphins. He would be a distraction that the Dolphins don't need. It's best for Tua if they cut him and give him a chance to find a new team and the Dolphins don't need him around muddying up the water. Cut him and be done with it and start fresh with a new GM and new QB and start the rebuild one year earlier. Honestly I think that would be better in the long run then the cap savings. Ewers has already shown enough in his 2 starts to conclude that the Dolphins are no worse off without Tua. His spot on the roster would be better served by someone like a rookie.

If he says all the right things as a third string backup right now, he can continue to do so for the rest of next season riding the bench, because we will be $46M better off.

If Tua starts mouthing off or complaining, well that's the rest of his NFL career finished because no-one else will take him. It's cold, but the contract is in his favor, you got to worry about us, not him.

Next year isn't about what's doing the best for Tua - don't feel sorry for him, he's gonna get paid by us regardless if he's on out list or not. If Tua plays up like a Primadonna, he will never play NFL again, and that's not our problem.

I'm hoping he does the opposite, and trains his ass off, wins over the Coach and team again... or else it's just a total waste of talent, and an abysmal failure at all coaching and assessment levels.  

[Spider-Dan]

Does anybody really believe there exists a any sequence of actions that would allow the Dolphins to leapfrog BOTH NEP and Bills in 2026?

Guy whose team went from 13 losses to 13 wins is like, "Do you think it's even possible that your team could improve as much as mine did?"

In point of fact, the existence of the 2025 New England Patriots (and the 2024 Commanders, and the 2023 Texans, etc.) makes me think that any garbage bottom-feeder team can dramatically improve in one year.