Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel contemplating QB change

Miami Gardens, Florida — dolphin “Everything is on the table,” coach Mike McDaniels said Tuesday, opening the door to a possible quarterback change. tua tagovailoaPerformance in Monday night’s defeat pittsburgh steelers,

The Dolphins (6-8) fell out of the playoff race on Monday with a 28-15 loss at Pittsburgh in which Tagovailoa completed just 6 of 10 passes for 65 yards and one interception in three quarters.

When asked after the game if he was considering a quarterback change, McDaniels said he did not want to make a “hasty” or “short-sighted” decision. His tone changed on Tuesday.

He said, “I think the quarterback’s play last night wasn’t good enough, and so for me, everything is on the table.”

Tagovailoa completed 22 of 28 passes for 253 yards, 2 touchdowns and one interception. Both touchdowns came in the fourth quarter when the Dolphins trailed 28–3. Entering Monday’s game, he had not thrown for more than 173 yards since Week 9.

McDaniels acknowledged that the Dolphins’ passing offense, which ranked 31st in the league since Week 10, has not been good enough and “hurt us” in the loss.

Tagovailoa took responsibility for their play on Monday, and what he called a lack of preparation.

“For one, I have to play better. I have to be better for our guys offensively,” he said. “Two, I’m very disappointed in how much I prepared my receivers in terms of operations, in terms of letting guys know where to line up, and in terms of communication when it comes to personnel.

“I tell guys the same thing when we have our player-led meetings, and I felt like I let my guys down in that aspect.”

McDaniels said he would make a decision Wednesday about the team’s starting quarterback. If they decide to bench Tagovailoa they have two options to choose from.

Miami signs 2021 second overall pick zach wilson this offseason, but he has not started a game since 2023. The Dolphins also drafted former Texas quarterback quinn evers In the seventh round of this year’s draft. Ewers briefly served as the team’s backup quarterback for the Week 7 loss. cleveland browns and entered the game briefly but otherwise remained the Dolphins’ emergency quarterback.

Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212.1 million extension through 2024 after leading the NFL in passing yards in 2023. However, he missed a career-high six games last season, and while he has been durable in 2025, he leads the league in interceptions with a career-high 15 in 14 games.

Dolphins host it cincinnati bengals (4-10) on Sunday.