Just two seasons ago, the Miami Dolphins looked like a team ready to break through. They dropped 70 points and racked up 726 yards on the Denver Broncos in a September showcase that felt like a coming-out party.
Tua Tagovailoa was healthy and slinging it, Mike McDaniel’s offense was humming, and the speed on the field-Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, De’Von Achane-was almost unfair. For a franchise that hadn’t won a playoff game in over 20 years, it finally felt like the tide was turning.
Fast forward to now, and that momentum has all but vanished. Miami regressed last season, fell off even further this year, and officially saw its slim playoff hopes vanish after a deflating loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night.
That elusive postseason win? Still out of reach.
And now, the Dolphins are staring down a future filled with more questions than answers.
Let’s start with the quarterback. Tua Tagovailoa, once the face of Miami’s resurgence, was benched this week.
And while that decision might sting on the surface, it’s hard to argue with it. Tua leads the league in interceptions and sits near the bottom of most advanced quarterback metrics-down in the statistical cellar alongside names like Justin Fields and Geno Smith.
That’s not where you want your $212.4 million quarterback to be, especially when his cap hit balloons to over $56 million next season.
McDaniel turned to rookie Quinn Ewers, a seventh-round pick who leapfrogged Zach Wilson on the depth chart. It’s a bold move, but also a telling one. The Tua question now looms large over Miami’s final three games-and beyond.
So what’s next?
Do the Dolphins run it back with a 27-year-old quarterback they once believed in enough to hand a massive extension? Or do they hit the reset button in an offseason where viable quarterback alternatives are few and far between?
Paying Tua $56 million to sit on the bench isn’t exactly ideal. But cutting ties in 2026 would trigger a record-breaking $99.2 million dead-cap hit-a financial gut punch that could cripple the team’s roster-building efforts for years.
Trading him sounds like the cleanest option, but who’s picking up the phone after the season he’s had?
The frustrating part is how much of an enigma Tagovailoa remains. His introduction to the football world was the stuff of legend-coming off the bench in the 2018 national title game and leading Alabama to a comeback win over Georgia.
He was fearless, accurate, and clutch. That night, he looked like a future star.
Since then, it’s been a rollercoaster. He was electric in his sophomore year at Alabama, then suffered a serious hip injury that cast doubt on his NFL future.
Miami still took him fifth overall, betting on his upside. And at times, that bet looked smart.
In McDaniel’s offense, Tua was a sharp distributor-quick reads, quick throws, letting his playmakers do the work.
But the concussions changed things. Understandably, he started getting the ball out even faster.
Combine that with his limited arm strength, and his game began to shrink. He became tentative, less confident in the pocket, and ultimately, less effective.
This season, his production fell off a cliff. And the man who gave him that massive deal-GM Chris Grier-was fired back in October with the team sitting at 2-7.
McDaniel managed to squeeze out a short winning streak by pivoting to a more run-heavy approach, but the wheels came off again against Pittsburgh. Early in the game, with the score still 0-0, Tua uncorked a deep ball that had no business being thrown.
No pressure, no reason to panic-and yet he delivered a fluttering, underthrown pass that was picked off with ease. It was the kind of decision that makes you question everything.
It’s possible McDaniel saw that play, watched the film, and decided right then that he couldn’t keep rolling with Tua.
Of course, McDaniel might not be the one making that call next year. Owner Stephen Ross chose to keep him while parting ways with Grier, but whoever steps in as the next GM will almost certainly want a say in the coaching direction. And it’s not just the quarterback situation that’s murky.
Tyreek Hill, the centerpiece of Miami’s explosive offense, missed much of this season with injury. Even before that, his production had started to dip.
Waddle’s been banged up too. De’Von Achane has flashed, but the supporting cast around him is uncertain.
The unit that once looked like the fastest, most dangerous offense in football might be a shell of itself by 2026.
This isn’t just a team with a quarterback problem. It’s a franchise at a crossroads.
Once upon a time, the Dolphins were synonymous with stability-Don Shula, Dan Marino, Larry Csonka, Bob Griese. Now?
They’re searching for answers. Again.
And the one thing that hasn’t changed? That playoff drought.
This marks 25 straight seasons without a postseason win. That’s the longest active streak in the NFL, and with no clear path forward, it’s hard to say when-if ever-it ends.