Tom Haberstroh and Dan Devine break down the New York Knicks’ first NBA Cup championship run. Following the departure of Tom Thibodeau, has the Knickerbockers’ offensive scheme unlocked a new level? With the defense maintaining its integrity as the offense continues to explode, are the Knicks now a real championship threat? Then, the pair discusses and shares their thoughts on the Knicks’ decision not to celebrate their NBA Cup championship with a banner.
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Later, they respond to commissioner Adam Silver’s comments regarding the NBA injury crisis and propose solutions to end the prolonged absence of star power for the league.
(1:14) The Big Number: $530,933 – Knicks player earnings from NBA Cup
(11:20) Knicks refuse to hang NBA Cup Banner
(19:32) The Little Number: +21.5 – Knicks net rating with Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart on the floor
(22:36) The Little Number: 7.9 minutes per game – time Jalen Brunson has possession of the ball this season
(26:40) The Little Number: 11th – Knicks defensive efficiency ranking
(32:07) Injury crisis update
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson holds the MVP trophy after winning the Emirates NBA Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena. Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
David Cariello has never seen anything quite like this.
Since Tulane advanced to the College Football Playoff, merchandise has flown off his store’s shelves at such a rate that he’s had to order thousands of additional apparel.
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This time of year, his New Orleans sports shop, Campus Connection, normally receives orders in the single or double digits. Last weekend, he had nearly 1,000 new orders in a span of about 36-48 hours.
The acronym stands for “Roll Mother F****** Wave.”
“I kind of had a minor panic attack with all of the calls for orders,” Cariello said. “I didn’t know if I could handle it.”
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The outpouring in New Orleans shows the power of an expanded playoff on non-power league programs — the underdogs of the Football Bowl Subdivision who often operate with limited budgets, smaller stadiums and far less historical accomplishments than their peers in the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC. The same goes for James Madison, the playoff’s No. 12 seed, which sold its allotment of 3,500 tickets despite the cross-country journey to Oregon.
While Tulane’s and JMU’s inclusion brings about the feel-good stories that often make college athletics different from the pros — for instance, the Cinderellas in the NCAA tournament — this particular year has introduced an unusual situation that the creators of the playoff probably never imagined: There are two, not just one, non-power programs in a postseason field of 12.
Well, it may be the last time it happens.
In news that’s 18 months old but has gone mostly overshadowed, next year’s playoff will specifically designate that the champions of the SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten receive a berth into the postseason field, plus the highest-ranked non-power league conference champion. That’s according to the now-infamous memorandum of understanding the parties signed in Spring 2024.
Jon Sumrall is the next head coach at Florida, but for now, he’s also coaching the Tulane Green Wave. (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)
(Michael DeMocker via Getty Images)
This is different from the current format, which designates the five automatic berths to the highest-ranked conference champions and not to specific leagues.
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For instance, this year’s playoff bracket, if using next year’s concepts, would look very different.
For one, Duke, despite its 8-5 record, would have automatically advanced into the field as the ACC champion, bumping out JMU, the second-highest-ranked non-power league champion.
But there’s something else.
As part of the memorandum signed last spring, the conferences agreed to grant Notre Dame a guarantee for the future: If the Irish are ranked inside the top 12 of a 12-team playoff, they automatically advance into the field.
That means, in this year’s playoff, Notre Dame, ranked No. 11, would be in the field in place of the last at-large bid: Miami.
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These two concepts — now coming into a brighter light publicly — have caught the attention of those in college athletics. In fact, the guarantee for Notre Dame, negotiated by Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua and agreed to by the 10 FBS conferences, caused quite the stir last week from a gathering of athletic administrators from Las Vegas.
“Why did we agree to give Notre Dame that?” said one power league athletic director, steaming over the deal.
But there’s plenty more to this story.
In fact, those in the non-power league ranks are asking why the Mountain West, American, C-USA, MAC, Pac-12 and Sun Belt agreed to alternate language that in future years prevents them from the possibility of receiving two automatic spots — just like they did this year.
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The answer is quite simple. Last spring, during intense and, at times, heated negotiations over the future of the College Football Playoff, leaders of the Big Ten and SEC threatened to create their own postseason system if they were not granted a majority of CFP revenue (they now have a combined 58% of it) and full authority over the playoff format (they have that, too). The non-power conferences only had a finite amount of time to opt into the deal.
In the end, all 11 parties — the 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame — inked three separate memorandum of understanding documents: one among the 11; one between the 11 and ESPN; and a third, separate agreement over revenue with the Pac-12’s two displaced members, Washington State and Oregon State.
However, the MOUs covers a playoff of only up to 14 teams. The fact that commissioners are exploring expansion to 16 or more begs the question: How much do these guarantees change if a new MOU is negotiated?
It depends on who you ask.
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“The main tenets of the guarantees wouldn’t change,” says one college leader.
But another official suggests that Notre Dame’s guarantee would, in fact, be impacted by any renegotiation if the playoff expands beyond 14.
Either way, as the playoffs begin this week, the results of the games are certain to impact future expansion and format discussions. In the 12-team playoff era — just one year in — programs outside of the SEC and Big Ten are 0-4. The non-power leagues and the ACC and Big 12 have three more chances this weekend (Miami, JMU and Tulane) and at least one more shot in the quarterfinals (Texas Tech).
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But, win or lose, the FBS underdogs are reveling in this current postseason structure. The playoff berth alone is delivering to JMU and Tulane early Christmas tidings. In fact, from mid-November to mid- December, Tulane’s donor contributions rose 373% compared to that stretch last year.
Meanwhile, Cariello is still selling those “RMFW” shirts, even to the likes of college sports leaders. American commissioner Tim Pernetti purchased one of the sweatshirts, Pernetti says, and he’ll be wearing it Saturday on the sideline in Oxford.
Dillon Brooks has some regrets about his latest interaction with LeBron James and the ejection that followed.
The Phoenix Suns’ forward said Wednesday that he was “out of character a little bit, out of my body a little but” in his team’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. The Suns rallied from a 20-point deficit late in that contest, and Brooks drilled a 3-pointer to put the Suns in the lead with about 10 seconds left.
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While James clearly bumped Brooks on the follow-through, which could have been called for a foul, officials didn’t blow their whistles. The league’s Last Two Minute Report deemed that a correct non-call. But Brooks, who has a long history with James, got up and immediately confronted him. Brooks was eventually assessed a technical foul, which was his second of the game and led to his ejection.
“[I need to learn] how to stay in the game and be able to affect the game when I’m in the game,” Brooks said Wednesday, via The Athletic. “That’s my problem through my whole career, is I let those things happen, and then I’m off the floor. Then at the end of the day, how much people hate on me and say I’m not a good player and all that, but when I’m on the floor, it changes the whole game.”
Both Brooks and James picked up early technical fouls in the contest, and James had to be restrained briefly after he thought Brooks tossed a ball in his direction on purpose.
Brooks wasn’t sure why James appeared to get upset with him earlier in the game, but he said he thinks James is tracking him and his comments on social media. He also called James a “social media junkie.”
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James, to Brooks’ point, posted about watching a YouTube golf episode on Wednesday.
“He be all over the socials, so he be seeing I guess what I’m saying,” Brooks said.
“Like I’ve [said] he thinks that people should think a way about him or not say nothing about him or play a certain way, and I’m not going to play that way. He gets in his moods or in his modes or whatever it is. I’m all for that.”
Brooks is averaging a career-high 21.6 points with 3 rebounds and 1.8 assists so far this season, his first with the Suns. The 29-year-old, who was dealt to the Suns from the Houston Rockets this past summer, is in the third year of a four-year, $86 million deal signed with the Memphis Grizzlies.
While Brooks has certainly earned himself a reputation both with James and throughout the league so far in his career — his listed nickname on Basketball Reference is “Dillon the Villain” — he doesn’t think it’s intentional. The play that led to his ejection on Sunday, he said, was just him “being aggressive.”
“I guess it was a timeout, and then it goes back to the rule I never heard of, is that when there’s bumping and stuff — like every single game there is — [the officials] pick and choose whether it’s a technical foul or not,” Brooks said. “You can go to every single game when there’s timeouts, guys are bumping each other. It’s pick and choose.
Hoops 360 hosts Caroline Fenton and Cassandra Negley sit down with Toronto Tempo’s inaugural franchise head coach, Sandy Brondello, to discuss what it takes to build a brand-new franchise from the ground up. Brondello shares insight into the challenges—and the rewards—of leading a first-year expansion team.
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Plus, Caroline and Cass react to Caitlin Clark’s comments on the ongoing WNBA CBA negotiations and break down where the top teams in women’s college basketball truly stand so far this season.
Got questions or topics for Hoops 360? Email us at hoops360@yahoosports.com and you could hear them on the show!
26:18 – Welcome to Hoops 360!
01:15 – Sandy Brondello joins hoops 360
21:29 – Biggest takeaway from Sandy Brondello conversation
24:02 – What to make of Caitlin Clark’s comments on the WNBA CBA
35:35 – Has the tone of WNBA CBA negotiations changed?
40:26 – Are these teams what their records say they are?: LSU, UConn, South Carolina, Texas, USC, Duke
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52:23 – Which of these top teams do you trust the least?: LSU, UConn, South Carolina, Texas
However, Warren said in his letter Wednesday that Illinois state leaders have directly told the Bears the project will not be a priority in 2026 and that the team will now expand its search for a stadium in the greater Chicago area. That includes the region of Northwest Indiana.
From the letter:
Stable timelines are critical, as are predictable processes and elected leaders, who share a sense of urgency and appreciation for public partnership that projects with this level of impact require. We have not received that sense of urgency or appreciation to date. We have been told directly by State leadership, our project will not be a priority in 2026, despite the benefits it will bring to Illinois.
Consequently, in addition to Arlington Park, we need to expand our search and critically evaluate opportunities throughout the wider Chicagoland region, including Northwest Indiana. This is not about leverage. We spent years trying to build a new home in Cook County. We invested significant time and resources evaluating multiple sites and rationally decided on Arlington Heights. Our fans deserve a world-class stadium. Our players and coaches deserve a venue that matches the championship standard they strive for every day. With that in mind, our organization must keep every credible pathway open to deliver that future.
The Bears are still waiting to get started on building their Arlington Park stadium.
(Chicago Tribune via Getty Images)
A move to Indiana would be an astonishing outcome for the Bears, even if the Indiana border is less than 15 miles from their current location of Soldier Field. A stadium in Hammond or Gary, Northwest Indiana’s largest cities, would take some getting used to.
As for what the Indianapolis Colts, the state’s current inhabitant, have to think about it, they released a short statement wishing the Bears well, via Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr:
“We wish the Bears all the best with their stadium initiative.”
The NFL has never seemed to mind the location of its stadium not matching up with the name of the team. The New York Jets and New York Giants both play in the neighboring state of New Jersey. The Washington Commanders play in Landover, Maryland, but are in the process of moving back to D.C. Plenty of teams play in external suburbs.
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This wouldn’t even be the most shocking move Warren has been a part of, as he was a central figure in adding USC and UCLA to the Big Ten when he was commissioner of the conference.
Warren’s letter notes the Bears are not asking for state taxpayer dollars to build the Arlington Park stadium, but concedes they are asking for a commitment to infrastructure upgrades such as roads and utilities.
And, of course, this is all being thrown out there three days before the Bears’ biggest game of the season against the Green Bay Packers, which could decide the NFC North.
Will Tua Tagovailoa ever start again for the Miami Dolphins? Yahoo Sports’ Andrew Siciliano, Jori Epstein and Ben Fawkes discuss the benching of the QB, with rookie Quinn Ewers set to take over for the rest of the season. They move on to debate whether the Atlanta Falcons will start the 2026 season with Kirk Cousins as signal caller, before discussing the latest cryptic comments from Joe Burrow and Zac Taylor. Andrew also sits down with Amon-Ra St. Brown to discuss the 2025 NFL season, as well as his Christmas priorities ahead of the holiday. Closing things out, the crew breaks down the enormous matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks before discussing their “One More Thing”.
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(4:48) – Dolphins bench Tua Tagovailoa
(16:14) – Could Kirk Cousins start next season for the Falcons?
(23:58) – Amon-Ra St. Brown joins the show!
(32:56) – What changes do the Bengals have to make this offseason?
(47:28) – Puka Nacua trashes NFL referees
(1:01:41) – One More Thing
Where do the Dolphins go without Tua at QB? (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
“Every player is different. Every sport’s different. Every position is different. With him, traditionally, he’s going after it so hard and he’s so in tune with what he does, he does it a little quicker. Ballpark on this is nine months. Could be a month or two less, a month or two more. You never know what goes on and everyone’s designed biomechanically, and so you just have to go through it.
A timeline of nine months from Monday would fall on Sept. 15, five days after the NFL is scheduled to begin the 2026 season. That makes the give-or-take of two months quite consequential.
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On the quicker end, Mahomes could be ready for Week 1 with time to spare. On the slower end, he doesn’t make his debut until November. Given how important the 30-year-old is to the future of the franchise, it has every reason to be cautious.
Patrick Mahomes’ 2026 availability is up in the air. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
(Kevin Sabitus via Getty Images)
That makes this offseason a tricky one for a Kansas City team at a crossroads. After years of contending and winning, the wheels came off in 2025 and putting them back on again likely means some significant roster changes for the team. If Mahomes isn’t playing, that’s all the more reason to approach 2026 as a rebuilding year.
Burkholder said Mahomes’ injury didn’t come with anything more concerning than the torn ligaments, and revealed the quarterback has already started rehab:
“They said that everything he had in this injury was fixable, correctable. And it was fixed on Monday night by Dr. Cooper. He had no artery damage, no nerve damage, no joint surface damage, no meniscal damage. He’s already started rehab down in Dallas. He was there first thing Tuesday morning and he’ll do that through tomorrow. Then he’ll be back here Friday.”
As Mahomes makes his way back, the Chiefs will officially end their season with games against the Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders.
Cleveland Browns defensive stalwart Myles Garrett is staring down the NFL’s single-season sack record. He’s poised to break it at some point over the final three games of his 2025 campaign. But if you ask Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, that mark will be reset in 2026: by Micah Parsons, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear during a loss to the Denver Broncos last weekend.
“Just wait till you guys see how hard he works to come back, how fast he probably comes back,” Hafley told reporters on Wednesday. “If I were a betting man, I would bet that he comes back better and probably breaks the sack record next year.
“So I’m going to put that on Micah and myself, and you guys can put it out there. And that’s the confidence I have in him.”
That kind of output would put Parsons in line for not only NFL Defensive Player of the Year but also NFL Comeback Player of the Year, considering he’ll likely miss the beginning of next season. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported earlier this week that the star pass rusher faces a recovery of at least nine months.
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As of Wednesday morning, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Parsons still hadn’t had surgery to repair the torn left ACL he suffered Sunday. That delay is not unusual for players awaiting a reconstructive knee procedure, however.
Still, in all likelihood, the Packers will start the 2026 campaign without Parsons, meaning the type of bounce-back season Hafley is predicting would be all the more incredible.
Garrett is one sack away from tying the current sack record, which is co-owned by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt. Strahan recorded 22.5 sacks with the New York Giants in 2001, and Watt matched that mark in 2021 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Even if Garrett somehow doesn’t eclipse that total this season, Parsons would need 23 sacks in less than a full season.
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He piled up 12.5 sacks in 14 games this season, his first with Hafley and the Packers after an infamous contract standoff with the Dallas Cowboys that resulted in Jerry Jones trading Parsons for three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark and a pair of first-round picks.
Parsons joined the Packers on Aug. 28, just 10 days before their season opener, and inked a four-year, $188 million deal with the team, including a reported $136 million of guaranteed money, that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
“I didn’t even know him,” said Hafley, who is in his second year as Green Bay’s DC. “[I] quickly developed a really good relationship with him.
” … How hard he worked and how hard he played and how hard he does play in the run game, in the pass game, the way he strains — I just have so much respect for the guy.”
While Parsons didn’t record a sack in Week 14 or 15, he’s still first in the league in pressures this season, according to Next Gen Stats. His 20.7% pressure rate in 2025 was the third best of his career, which has included four Pro Bowl nods and three All-Pro accolades.
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Parsons has accounted for a third of the Packers’ pressures this season, per NGS.
Just as Hafley believes in his sack artist making a triumphant return, he believes in the rest of his unit responding to Parsons’ absence with conviction.
“As far as the team goes, I told them: ‘You can’t let circumstance dictate behavior,’” Hafley said. “A week ago, we’re in here after we beat the Bears, and we’re all walking in here all upbeat and ready to roll. And I said, ‘Shame on you, if you walk in here any different today.’ … And that’s our job as leaders and as coaches to make sure that we don’t do that.
“We got really good players. We play good defense, and we’re going to continue to play good defense. And our guys understand that.”
This is one of the toughest Thursday Night Football previews I have written this season, because the largest looming factor over this game is the weather report.
All week there has been a projected 90% chance of rain in Seattle. The biggest move in the betting market has been on the game total, dropping from an opener of 45.5 all the way down to 42 now. I was lucky enough to identify this in my Tuesday article and recommend an under 44.5.
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But at this point in the betting cycle — and truthfully at this point in the betting legalization era — sportsbooks have gotten incredibly sharp when it comes to factoring in weather conditions. The expected sustained wind of 13 mph with gusts north of 20 mph is priced into everything from the game lines to the passing and kicking player props. It is fantastic to be a frontrunner of weather news, but it is hard to still find value once the information is known.
Therefore, my strongest recommendation is not to go big with your bets on this game. The books are adjusting hourly based on forecast changes, which for us non-meteorologists, is an information and pricing disadvantage. Instead of going through the normal spread, total, and prop context I normally apply, I will stick to what I consider four still-actionable angles.
The game total has plummeted because of the rain, and the spread has moved toward the home Seahawks as the seemingly sharp side. Perhaps the best way to attack this is in the player prop market on Charbonnet.
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Charbonnet is the more traditional power back alongside explosive playmaker and starting RB Kenneth Walker. While Walker is likely to be the guy out there on the first play as the designated starter, surprisingly, Charbonnet has played a higher percentage of snaps in six of the 13 games these two have both played this season. The workload is a near equal split – and this spot could be better fit for Charbonnet.
The defense is going to know the run is coming, and the offense is going to be predicated less on breaking a big explosive play, but a slow churn of steady yardage. Right now Charbonnet is projected to have three fewer rush attempts and 15 more yards. This may be an inefficiency in the betting market. The first two late-week bets into this market are the overs on Charbonnet’s rush attempts and yardage. I also don’t mind going under on Walker.
Bet: Zach Charbonnet over 9.5 rush attempts (+100), over 32.5 rush yards (-115)
2. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
In the same vein of fading the amount of explosive plays generated in this game, looking toward Smith-Njigba — Seattle’s emerging superstar — is a must. If the rain is pouring in, and perhaps more pertinently the wind is howling, the defenses are going to continue to bring pressure on Sam Darnold and the run game. Let’s hope Darnold is not “seeing ghosts” out there.
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The ability to generate deeper pass plays, where Darnold has to hold onto the ball longer as Smith-Njigba works downfield, and then has to mitigate wind factors to deliver the right throw, is significantly lessened. In the betting market we have seen Smith-Njigba’s longest reception number drop from 28.5 to 26.5. BetMGM is still holding onto that under-28.5, so that has to be a grab as well. A likely positive closing line value prop spot if the weather forecast holds.
Bet: Jaxson Smith-Njigba longest reception under 28.5 yards
3. Seahawks QB Sam Darnold
Interested in a +EV longshot? Let’s look at Darnold. Since it’s clear that Seattle is the sharper side, and we know the Rams are without their best red zone wide receiver in Davante Adams, the Seahawks are the target for touchdown markets. Darnold surprisingly has some wheels and sneaky athleticism. If Darnold can escape pressure, he is a candidate to run one in. There is not too much sophistication and overthinking that can go into this; it’s a long shot, but comparing it to the rest of the market it does have an edge.
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Bet: Sam Darnold first TD scorer (80-1)
4. Rams WR Puka Nacua
This is a bet on top-tier talent in the NFL — an MVP-caliber QB in Matthew Stafford and perhaps an Offensive Player of the Year in Nacua. With the weather conditions, the game total dropping and the Seahawks being the sharp side, I believe we are getting a discount on Puka Nacua props.
On top of the division and conference standing implications of this game, Stafford seems to be playing for an MVP trophy to cap off a Hall of Fame career. Since Stafford entered the MVP conversation, his pass attempts have soared. The last five weeks for Stafford have seen a higher volume of pass attempts when compared against the beginning or middle of the NFL season to date. Factor in the loss of Adams and a short week to work out proper game-planning with the other weapons, and Stafford is going to rely heavily on Nacua.
It was, however, somewhat unexpected when the team tapped seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers as the new starter and not the more experienced Zach Wilson. Especially for Wilson, apparently.
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Speaking with the Miami Herald after Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel announced the change under center, Wilson reportedly said he was “frustrated” and “maybe a little confused as well” about being passed over for starting duties this coming Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
He did wish Ewers well, though, via the Herald:
“Of course I would love to play,” Wilson said. “…I can’t control that. My job is to go out and do the best I can. Keep preparing, …. getting better, supporting Quinn. Excited for him to get his first start.”
Asked if McDaniel explained why he didn’t get the starting job, Wilson said: “A little bit. There’s still confusion there. But you know what? That’s how it goes sometimes.”
Wilson will serve as Ewers’ backup on Sunday, much like he has for Tagovailoa this season.
The former second overall pick signed with the Dolphins last offseason on a one-year, $6 million contract, after an unsuccessful run as the New York Jets’ starting quarterback and a 2024 season with the Denver Broncos in which he didn’t appear in a game. Ewers was drafted in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
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For much of the year, the Dolphins’ QB depth chart has been Tagovailoa, Wilson and Ewers. Wilson has appeared in three games as the backup, while Ewers made his NFL debut in October with his first and only appearance. Neither profile as a long-term solution for the Dolphins, but Ewers reportedly impressed enough in preseason and practice that Miami opted to give him a whirl against the 4-10 Bengals.
Zach Wilson will remain the Dolphins’ back-up QB. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
(Diamond Images via Getty Images)
At the very least, a successful start could set up Ewers for a more long-term back-up role for the Dolphins going forward, while Wilson is a free agent after this season.
McDaniel reportedly told Wilson he still has a chance to play this season, though. Wilson also reflected on his time with the team in some diplomatic terms, via the Herald:
Asked to describe his one season as a Dolphin, Wilson said: “It’s definitely been eventful, right?… Guys have been great and I appreciate the organization bringing me here.
“It’s definitely been tough. I don’t think the season has gone as we all had hoped.
Wish we could have pulled out some more wins and things had gone a little smoother. And of course, I would like to be playing, but it happens. So we’ll go from there.”
As politely as Wilson puts it, it’s been a miserable season for the Dolphins, who are 6-8, out of the playoffs and just publicly ceded defeat on their franchise quarterback. They have three games left before they enter an offseason with some uncomfortable questions, with the Bengals game scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday in Miami.