Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will start this week as the team prepares for a road game against the Atlanta Falcons. McDaniel said Quinn Ewers, who made his NFL debut after Tagovailoa’s benching on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, will compete for the backup role with Zach Wilson.
“(Tagovailoa) is going to take the snaps this week and he’s going to be our starter this week and my expectation is that we don’t throw 10 picks,” McDaniel told reporters at his Monday news conference.
McDaniel said he met with Tagovailoa on Monday morning to watch tape from the Dolphins’ 31-6 loss to the Browns. Tagovailoa was benched in the fourth quarter of the game after completing 12 of 23 passes for 100 yards and throwing three interceptions for the second consecutive game. Tagovailoa’s 10 interceptions this season are tied with the Las Vegas Raiders’ Geno Smith for most in the NFL.
“I thought it was important for us to watch the offense together,” McDaniel said of meeting with Tagovailoa. “So we watched the pass game together this morning and had direct communication about the ebbs and flows of the game and how we can both improve for each other.”
Tensions have been rising for Tagovailoa, who caught negative attention last week when he publicly called out teammates for skipping player meetings. He later apologized for his actions and said he failed to protect the team as a leader in that moment.
Ewers, the rookie quarterback Miami drafted in the seventh round, saw his first regular-season game action against the Browns. He completed 5 of 8 passes for 53 yards, took two sacks and fumbled twice while leading two drives.
Ewers was promoted to backup status last week after the Dolphins declared Wilson inactive. McDaniel said he and the coaching staff agreed Ewers could give them a better opportunity than Wilson against the Browns, but moving forward “all things are on the table” for backup quarterback designation.
“I make a very calculated, intentional effort to observe each player every week,” McDaniel said. “I’m hoping it’s not a week-to-week thing. It will be competitive this week, and at the end of the week, I’ll let you guys know who the backup is in the hopes that somebody grabs and takes. But you have to be willing to do whatever it takes. That’s the best thing for your team.”
The Dolphins are off to a 1-6 start and McDaniel has dropped to 29-29 overall since taking over in 2022. With his job security in question, McDaniel, 42, said he spoke with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross directly after the loss to the Browns, but their discussion was game-focused. He stuck by the comments he made Sunday that he would not discuss the future of his coaching career.
“There’s a piece of me from an integrity standpoint that I just refuse to go into that world of speculation when I’m currently holding the job,” McDaniel said. “At this point, I don’t think anybody really is focused on any of that. You gotta focus on winning a game. … I can’t speak on all of the speculative things that aren’t real. As far as we’re operating, we have a lot of things to focus on and none of which is speculating on speculation.”