Dolphins benching Tua Tagovailoa for rookie Quinn Ewers, AP source says

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa walks off the field after an NFL football encounter against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh Monday Dec AP Photo Justin Berl AP Justin Berl Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa walks off the field after an NFL football encounter against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh Monday Dec AP Photo Justin Berl AP Justin Berl The Miami Dolphins are benching Tua Tagovailoa for rookie seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers a person with knowledge of the quarterback change notified The Associated Press on Wednesday The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the company hasn t disclosed the switch Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel explained he was considering it after a - loss to the Steelers on Monday night eliminated Miami - from playoff contention Tagovailoa leads the NFL with interceptions and hasn t played up to his contract after signing a four-year million extension in July Ewers was for for yards in his only action this season in a lopsided loss to the Browns in October He was the st member selected in the draft last April after starting three seasons at Texas The -year-old Tagovailoa had started every championship this season but has a history of concussions He missed six games last season after playing games in He led the NFL in yards passing that season helped the Dolphins win games to earn a wild-card spot and earned a big contract that included million guaranteed A total of million is guaranteed for The Dolphins would incur substantial hits to the salary cap by releasing Tagovailoa Releasing him next year would aftermath in a million dead cap charge If the move is designated as a post-June release those charges are split over two years with million allocated to the cap and million in The Denver Broncos took the NFL s all-time biggest cap hit of million for releasing Russell Wilson in AP NFL https apnews com hub nfl Source