Good Luck Quinn Ewers!

[CF DolFan]

Most people are not aware but the third string QBs do not take snaps during the week. They are running the scout team. They also get no reps in the scrimmages againt other teams. Ewers didn't get any the week he came into the game with Clevelend. I almost bet they never thought they would need to use him but they did. Since that game, Miami has been giving him some of Wilson's reps. Quinn said yesterday he has never worked with the first string. I say this only to temper expectations.

Fortunately, we are playing the leagues worst defense and our running game should get the bulk of the work. We are also wearing the throwbacks which everyone knows makes us play better ... hahaha. Good luck to our rookie! Dolphins history is not on your side. 

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

This is the Dolphin's first preseason game of 2026. 

[Dave Gray]

I think we've seen Tua's last snap as a Dolphin.

I am not a "let's see what this kid can do" guy and I think that starting Ewers is more about a signal that Tua is done and an attempt to save his brain/body/reputation.  I just don't think you want your guy our there getting hurt and booed for multiple games.

I guess the strategy is to try to trade him and be willing to eat some of the contract for someone else.

I just don't see how he still plays for this team next year.

[CF DolFan]

This is the Dolphin's first preseason game of 2026. 

I agree with you. This is his first evaluation for next year. If it goes well or semi-well,  maybe he competes to start next year. If it doesn't, he may get replaced on the scout team.

[Phishfan]

I don't see how you find any trade partner. Tua is on the team unless they just take the hit.

[CF DolFan]

No one is taking Tua's salary and likely not even a portion. The whole league has seen his play this year. 

[Pappy13]

This is the Dolphin's first preseason game of 2026.  

This and lucky for us it happens in 2025 before the draft and free agency period.

[Pappy13]

I think we've seen Tua's last snap as a Dolphin.

I am not a "let's see what this kid can do" guy and I think that starting Ewers is more about a signal that Tua is done and an attempt to save his brain/body/reputation.  I just don't think you want your guy our there getting hurt and booed for multiple games.

I guess the strategy is to try to trade him and be willing to eat some of the contract for someone else.

I just don't see how he still plays for this team next year.

I think a lot of that will be up to Tua and how he handles being benched. If Tua were to agree to restructure his contract and push more of his salary to 2027 and beyond, the Dolphins might be willing to bring him back in 2026, but no guarantees about him starting. He competes with whomever is on the roster and the best man gets the job. If Tua would agree to that I think he could return, but I don't know if that would be acceptable to Tua. Perhaps he would prefer to take his chances with being cut outright.

By the way there are recent examples of both scenarios. The Broncos cut Russel Wilson and absorbed his 85 million cap hit. It worked out alright for them as they are now in position to challenge for a Superbowl. The Falcons decided to keep Kirk Cousins on their roster after he was benched late in 2024 for rookie Michael Penix Jr. Cousins has backed up Penix Jr this year and is now the starting QB again when Penix went down with a hand injury. Now Cousins did not have to agree to a restructured contract as far as I'm aware, but he did come back to play for the team after being benched for a rookie. It remains to be seen how that will work out for Atlanta.

[Sibster]

I don't see how you find any trade partner. Tua is on the team unless they just take the hit.

No one is taking Tua's salary and likely not even a portion. The whole league has seen his play this year. 

I totally agree on this.   A guy who is clearly on the decline with a huge contract?   I wouldn't trade a warm six pack for him.   He will be here next year and as a result, I don't think he's taken his last snap as a Dolphin yet.  But when his contract is up, so is his time here.

[masterfins]

I think Tua will be on the team next year, how much he plays is another question.  He still has the issues he had when he was drafted - he's a lefty, undersized, can't throw the deep ball, injury prone (even more so now with the concussions}.  Now add to that he can't play in the cold and he has a massive contract that no team would take on.

He would make a good backup, but that's a less than $5 mil per year gig.

So unless they just want him out of the building so he's not a distraction, he will be on the team next year.

[masterfins]

I think Tua will be on the team next year, how much he plays is another question.  He still has the issues he had when he was drafted - he's a lefty, undersized, can't throw the deep ball, injury prone (even more so now with the concussions}.  Now add to that he can't play in the cold and he has a massive contract that no team would take on.

He would make a good backup, but that's a less than $5 mil per year gig.

So unless they just want him out of the building so he's not a distraction, he will be on the team next year.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I think Tua will be on the team next year, how much he plays is another question.  

I think the ONLY way Tua is not on the team is if the Dolphins tell him he won't be the starter and give him permission to talk to other teams about a trade (and why the hell wouldn't the Dolphins give him permission to talk to other teams?) Another team is willing to start him if he takes a pay cut plus incentives and Tua decides he has more than enough money but wants to be a starter.  But I find this extremely unlikely in part because his agent isn't going to want to take a pay cut also I doubt the Dolphins will announce the QB until after the second preseason game at the earliest. 

The Dolphins can NOT afford to cut him unless he is so disruptive that the arbitrator finds his behavior voided his guarantees.   

Most likely he will remain on the team and compete with Quinn and another QB for the starting job.  While it is a no brainer to play Quinn for the rest of the season, odds are Quinn is not going to play so well that he is named the 2026 starter before the start of training camp. 

Wilson throwing a hissy fit about not starting over Quinn means Wilson is very unlikely to be offered a new contract and lowered his value at finding another team interested in his services. 

[Downunder Dolphan]

I think Tua will be on the team next year, how much he plays is another question.  He still has the issues he had when he was drafted - he's a lefty, undersized, can't throw the deep ball, injury prone (even more so now with the concussions}.  Now add to that he can't play in the cold and he has a massive contract that no team would take on.

He would make a good backup, but that's a less than $5 mil per year gig.

So unless they just want him out of the building so he's not a distraction, he will be on the team next year.

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

Whatever limitations he had coming out of college into the NFL, he is clearly not the same guy as who was playing in 2022/2023.

There have been rumours his hip injury is far worse than the team has let on, and Joe Rose in his podcast after the Steelers game said that unlike all of the other active QBs on both rosters (Rodgers, Rudolph, Wilson, Quinn) he wasn't involved with the pregame warmup throws on the field.

I'd have a wild guess we have been trying to nurse a physically lame Tua (and mentally lame as a follow-on) through the season while we've still been a mathematical chance at playoffs - now that's out of the question, it's the perfect time to send Tua to the sidelines and see what we have with Quinn (who let's face it, has about as much chance as Skyler Thompson in succeeding - he's already admitted that prior to Tua's benching, he's had absolutely no reps with any of the starters!).

On the salary cap front for 2026, we're screwed if we keep Tua, equally screwed if we trade him, and doubly screwed if we cut him. I know some in the media are saying if Quinn shows he's the second coming of Tom Brady in the next three games (and I doubt it) we can afford to cut with Tua and wear the $100M hit as we have a bargain basement QB to build around. Financially, that's still suicide - the extra $45M from keeping Tua on the bench for 2026 will help address some of our many other issues with the list. 

[Pappy13]

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

Whatever limitations he had coming out of college into the NFL, he is clearly not the same guy as who was playing in 2022/2023.
There have been rumours his hip injury is far worse than the team has let on, and Joe Rose in his podcast after the Steelers game said that unlike all of the other active QBs on both rosters (Rodgers, Rudolph, Wilson, Quinn) he wasn't involved with the pregame warmup throws on the field.

I'd have a wild guess we have been trying to nurse a physically lame Tua (and mentally lame as a follow-on) through the season while we've still been a mathematical chance at playoffs - now that's out of the question, it's the perfect time to send Tua to the sidelines and see what we have with Quinn (who let's face it, has about as much chance as Skyler Thompson in succeeding - he's already admitted that prior to Tua's benching, he's had absolutely no reps with any of the starters!).

I definitely think it has affected his mobility. I went back and watched some highlights of him in college and he was moving around pretty good, very nimble. I haven't seen that Tua the entire time he's been with Miami. Maybe it's just a matter of the difference in speed between the college game and the pro's, but it could also be that hip injury put a damper on his ability to escape pressure.

On the salary cap front for 2026, we're screwed if we keep Tua, equally screwed if we trade him, and doubly screwed if we cut him. I know some in the media are saying if Quinn shows he's the second coming of Tom Brady in the next three games (and I doubt it) we can afford to cut with Tua and wear the $100M hit as we have a bargain basement QB to build around. Financially, that's still suicide - the extra $45M from keeping Tua on the bench for 2026 will help address some of our many other issues with the list.  

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.

[Phishfan]

Didn't Denver take a huge hit cutting Wilson and look at them now. Miami just needs to hit on a rookie QB contract. Hopefully Ewers can prove to be it.