What Happened to Tua Tagovailoa?
Tua Tagovailoa went from being Miami’s long‑term franchise quarterback to a very expensive player on the bench, as the Dolphins shifted to rookie Quinn Ewers late in the 2025 season. The turning point came in December 2025, when coach Mike McDaniel decided to sit him and start Ewers, a seventh‑round pick from Texas, to see if the offense could find a new spark after weeks of uneven play and mounting interceptions.
Bleacher Report noted on Instagram that, according to @adamschefter, the Miami Dolphins are benching quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and turning to Quinn Ewers, who will make his first start against the Bengals.
Instead of a classic “injury update,” the story around Tua has become about performance, contract, and what comes next. Multiple reports now suggest the organization is strongly considering moving on from him in 2026, even though his deal carries a massive cap hit, which has turned his situation into one of the loudest talking points in the league.
In fan conversations, it feels less like a simple benching and more like the slow ending of a big, hopeful era that never fully matched the early hype, especially after the concussion controversy and his 2024 hip injury already raised long‑term durability questions.
Why Tua Tagovailoa Not Playing?
Tua Tagovailoa is not playing right now because he has been demoted to backup while the Dolphins evaluate Quinn Ewers as their starting quarterback, not because of a new major injury. Recent inactives lists have even shown Tua in an emergency‑QB role while other passers handle the offense, which signals a clear coaching decision rather than a medical restriction.
Coaches and executives have watched an inconsistent 2025 season: stretches of sharp, accurate passing mixed with turnover‑heavy games that stalled drives and put the defense under pressure. From the outside, this feels like one of those “evaluation windows” that often appear late in a season when a front office needs to know whether a young, cheaper quarterback can run the team before big cap decisions hit.
Reports from league insiders now describe Tua as “unlikely to be back with Miami in 2026,” which adds a bit of emotional weight to every shot of him standing on the sideline in a cap and hoodie instead of a helmet.
Tua Tagovailoa Stats
Tua Tagovailoa’s 2025 regular season with the Dolphins finished with 2,660 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions, completing 67.7% of his passes with a passer rating of 88.5 across 15 games. That stat line shows a capable starter who can move the ball but also turns it over more than a front office would like when the expectations are “top‑tier franchise quarterback” money.
Per‑game logs tell the same mixed story: there were efficient, high‑completion games over 250 yards with multiple touchdowns, but also rough outings with several interceptions and low yards per attempt, especially in October and November.
Across his career so far, Tua has thrown for more than 18,000 yards and 120 passing touchdowns for Miami, numbers that once supported the idea of a long partnership with the Dolphins’ explosive skill‑position group, even as repeated injuries earlier in his career kept raising questions about sustainability.
| Category | 2025 season (Miami) | NFL career total (through 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Games played | 14 | 78 |
| Games started | 14 | 76 |
| Pass attempts | 384 | 2,421 |
| Pass completions | 260 | 1,647 |
| Completion percentage | 67.7% | 68.0% |
| Passing yards | 2,660 | 18,166 |
| Yards per attempt | 6.9 | 7.5 |
| Passing touchdowns | 20 | 120 |
| Interceptions | 15 | 59 |
| Longest pass | 47 yards | 84 yards |
| Sacks taken | 30 | 141 |
| Passer rating | 88.5 | 96.4 |
| Rushing attempts | 20 | 174 |
| Rushing yards | 43 | 473 |
| Yards per rush | 2.2 | 2.7 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 0 | 6 |
Disclaimer: This Information is based on publicly available reports, league insider commentary, and season statistics available at the time of writing. Team decisions, depth charts, and roster plans can change quickly due to performance, injuries, trades, or front-office strategy. Always refer to official statements from the Miami Dolphins or the NFL for confirmed updates.
