{"id":100979,"date":"2025-12-31T08:55:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T08:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/100979\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T08:55:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T08:55:14","slug":"should-ross-run-it-back-in-2026-what-are-the-qb-options","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/100979\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Ross ‘run it back’ in 2026? What are the QB options?"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIAMI GARDENS \u2014 Welcome to the latest season edition of our Miami Dolphins Q&A, where South Florida Sun Sentinel writers David Furones and Chris Perkins<\/a> answer questions from readers.<\/p>\n

Q: \u200bI say stick with Ewers. \u2026 Hire Champ, stick with the group and grind out for 2027 \u2026 \u2014 @vasilithervos5687\u200b on Dolphins Deep Dive w\/Perk<\/p>\n

If Dolphins<\/a> owner Steve Ross sticks with rookie Quinn Ewers<\/a> at quarterback and interim general manager Champ Kelly in the front office, it would surely mean coach Mike McDaniel returns as coach. That option is gaining steam recently, and rightfully so.<\/p>\n

I still favor taking a broom to the Big 3<\/a> \u2014 GM, coach and QB \u2014 and starting over. It\u2019s not personal, it\u2019s business. Even some of the good vibes from the second half of this season raise more questions.<\/p>\n

Why did it take so many years for the offense to find the stability of the run game?<\/p>\n

Why can\u2019t Miami, after four years, compete with playoff-caliber teams?<\/p>\n

Why did it take so long to get the culture correct, if, in fact, it\u2019s correct right now<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Who remains that played a major role in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa\u2019s four-year, $212 million contract extension, and should their judgment be trusted?<\/p>\n

Set those aside.<\/p>\n

The fact remains McDaniel has stabilized the offense with the run game. He has apparently corrected the culture problem that was an issue previously. McDaniel, at this stage, has developed the rookie class<\/a>. He has transitioned this team from a speedy, finesse group to a blue collar, grind-it-out crew that has some physicality. These players like and respect McDaniel. These players like and respect Kelly.<\/p>\n

None of that can be ignored.<\/p>\n

The big questions are why it took McDaniel so long to get to this point, and whether the Kelly-McDaniel administration could win a playoff game within two years.<\/p>\n

Q: We need to set the bar higher \u2013 we need a new approach as we need to beat teams with winning records and McDaniel has just not shown an ability to do that. \u2014 @petermcdowell on Dolphins Deep Dive w\/Perk<\/p>\n

I agree. Totally.<\/p>\n

\u200bQ: QB options \u2013 Let Ewers start next year; sign Malik Willis for about 15 million a year; draft a rookie and let him and Ewers battle it out; start Ewers and wait until 27 to draft a QB \u2014 @PrettieBoi25\u200b on Dolphins Deep Dive w\/Perk<\/p>\n

Quarterback remains a major question<\/a>. Ewers is intriguing. So is Green Bay backup quarterback Malik Willis, the strong-armed, agile 26-year old who was a third-round selection by Tennessee in 2022. But I\u2019m not yet convinced either would be ready to be a starter in 2026.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d bring in a veteran quarterback with starting experience (think Kirk Cousins, Andy Dalton, Tyler \u201cSnoop\u201d Huntley types, but not necessarily any of those three) to battle Ewers for the starting job in training camp.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t like the first-round draft quarterback options for the Dolphins right now considering they\u2019ll likely draft around No. 10 or 12, when the top two prospects are gone. I\u2019d perhaps draft a quarterback in the third round, when the Dolphins have three selections. I don\u2019t like drafting quarterbacks after the fourth round (yes, I\u2019m aware Ewers is a seventh-round pick, as is San Francisco\u2019s Brock Purdy, and the G.OA.T., Tom Brady, was a sixth-round pick).<\/p>\n

I think if the Dolphins enter training camp with Ewers, a veteran quarterback with starting experience and a third-round draftee on their roster it shows optimism, due diligence, player development, a good fallback position and a look ahead as well as a chance for stability in 2026.<\/p>\n

Dolphins Deep Dive: Will Ross retain McDaniel and Kelly? | VIDEO<\/a><\/p>\n

Q: MVP goes to Brooks, solid season, stayed healthy. \u2014\u00a0@rking5826\u200b\u200b on Dolphins Deep Dive w\/Perk<\/p>\n

Running back De\u2019Von Achane is the MVP<\/a>. Linebacker Jordyn Brooks, the NFL leader in tackles (174) heading into the final week of the regular season as well as a key team leader on and off the field, has been a baller. He\u2019s easily No. 2 in the MVP race.<\/p>\n

Achane (1,350 yards rushing, No. 5 in the league) wins the award primarily because he\u2019s made the run game work. And in the absence of wide receiver Tyreek Hill (knee) and Tagovailoa (benched), that\u2019s been more important.<\/p>\n

Achane has made McDaniel a better play-caller, he\u2019s made the offensive line more effective, and while freeing the offense from the shackles of the two-high safety pass defense he\u2019s also been effective running the ball against the eight-man front.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Q: \u200b\u200bIf I\u2019m Tomlin or Harbaugh and I\u2019m let go, I\u2019m looking at the NY Giants before Miami \u2014\u00a0@trublazer on Dolphins Deep Dive w\/Perk<\/p>\n

I hear you. But if I\u2019m Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin or Baltimore coach John Harbaugh, whose jobs could both be in danger, I consider all the circumstances. It\u2019s a tough call. Let\u2019s take a very surface-level glance.<\/p>\n

The outside forces \u2014 ownership, media, patience from fans \u2014 probably work in the Dolphins\u2019 favor.<\/p>\n

If you want publicity and a high-profile job, the Giants win.<\/p>\n

With the Giants, you\u2019re competing in the NFC East against Dallas (Dak Prescott at quarterback), Philadelphia (Jalen Hurts) and Washington (Jayden Daniels). With the Dolphins you\u2019re competing against Buffalo (Josh Allen) and New England (Drake Maye), which works in the Dolphins\u2019 favor.<\/p>\n

If you want a quarterback (Giants\u2019 Jaxson Dart vs. Dolphins\u2019 player to be named later) and\/or running back (Giants\u2019 Cam Skatebo vs. Dolphins\u2019 Achane) and\/or wide receiver (Giants\u2019 Malik Nabers vs. Dolphins\u2019 Jaylen Waddle), the Giants might get a slight edge. Perhaps.<\/p>\n

Overall, the Dolphins job is still a fairly good job.<\/p>\n

Q: \u200bNext year we should keep working towards a run-heavy team. Get more physical. Find OL for right side of line. Maulers \u2014\u00a0@NickBanghart on Dolphins Deep Dive w\/Perk<\/p>\n

You\u2019re right. I like this run-first offense more than the big-play passing offense of previous years. Of course, I liked last year\u2019s dink-and-dunk offense more than the big-lay passing offense of previous years. McDaniel has done his best coaching, offensively and overall, in the second half of the past two seasons.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, the Dolphins continue with a run-first offense in 2026, and hopefully they reinforce the offensive line.<\/p>\n

Dolphins Deep Dive: Has there been a culture change in Miami? | VIDEO<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI GARDENS \u2014 Welcome to the latest season edition of our Miami Dolphins Q&A, where South Florida Sun…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[21261,123,1763,125,124,3003,13232],"class_list":{"0":"post-100979","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-champ-kelly","9":"tag-miami","10":"tag-miami-dolphins","11":"tag-miami-headlines","12":"tag-miami-news","13":"tag-mike-mcdaniel","14":"tag-stephen-ross"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}