The Miami Dolphins are officially hitting the reset button at quarterback. With just three games left in the season and a 6-8 record to show for it, they’ve made the bold move to bench Tua Tagovailoa in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers - a seventh-round pick who's about to get a trial by fire.
It’s a significant moment for a franchise that’s been searching for long-term stability under center for years. Tagovailoa, once seen as the answer when Miami took him fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, now finds himself on the bench with his future in South Florida hanging in the balance.
The Dolphins have invested heavily in him - financially and emotionally - but this move signals a potential turning of the page. If Ewers shows any promise in these final games, the Dolphins may be ready to start over at the game’s most important position.
The timing of this quarterback shake-up adds even more intrigue to this weekend’s matchup: the Bengals are coming to town. And here’s where things get even more interesting - back in 2020, before the draft, Miami reportedly made a serious run at the No. 1 overall pick, offering Cincinnati a package of four first-rounders in an attempt to land Joe Burrow.
The Bengals didn’t bite. They didn’t even entertain the idea.
They were locked in on Burrow, and they made that clear from the jump.
In the short term, Cincinnati's decision looked like a slam dunk. Burrow led the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance in 2021 and followed that up with an AFC Championship Game run in 2022.
He became the face of the franchise and helped elevate the Bengals from perennial also-rans to legitimate contenders. But the last few seasons haven’t been as kind.
Injuries have taken a toll on Burrow - he’s missed significant time in three of his five seasons - and the Bengals, now sitting at 4-10, haven’t sniffed the postseason since that 2022 run.
That’s left Burrow frustrated and openly questioning what the future holds for him in Cincinnati. It’s not just about wins and losses - it’s about whether the organization can put together a sustainable plan to keep him healthy and competitive. For a quarterback who’s already proven he can take a team deep into the playoffs, that’s a fair ask.
So when the Bengals and Dolphins face off on Sunday, the game itself won’t have playoff implications, but it carries a heavy dose of what-if energy. Miami will be evaluating Ewers, hoping to see a spark that could justify a new direction. Cincinnati, meanwhile, might be looking across the field and seeing a version of their own future if they can’t get things right around Burrow - a team with talent, but no quarterback stability, and a whole lot of questions.
This isn’t just a matchup of two struggling teams. It’s a snapshot of two franchises at a crossroads - one that tried and failed to get Burrow, and another that got him but now has to fight to keep him happy. What happens next could shape both teams for years to come.