"Who gave him the bad advice to leave college": CFB fans react as former Texas QB Quinn Ewers struggles heavily in disappointing NFL debut

Once ranked as the No. 1 player in the 2021 recruiting class, Quinn Ewers slid all the way to the seventh round of the 2025 NFL draft, where he was picked by the Miami Dolphins. While other rookie quarterbacks like Shedeur Sanders impressed in their preseason debuts, Ewers’ first outing was underwhelming.

Sunday's preseason matchup between the Dolphins and Chicago Bears ended in a 24-24 tie. Ewers completed just 5 of 18 passes for 91 yards with no touchdowns, no interceptions and two lost fumbles.

Having opted for the NFL draft instead of staying in college and potentially earning millions through the transfer portal, Ewers faced criticism from fans after his rocky debut.

"Who gave him the bad advice to leave college," a fan said.

Fans react as Quinn Ewers struggles heavily in disappointing NFL preseason debut

"Looks like Zach Wilson is teaching him how to be an NFL QB," one fan said.

"I remember when people thought this guy would be a top 10 pick," another fan said.

However, not everyone blamed Ewers entirely, as some noted that he was working with backups and didn’t have much help.

"WRS, O line and coaches absolutely SOLD his a**," a fan said.

"Its hilarious seeing people comment that dont watch or even know anything about football. One preseason game... ONE.. and they think someone sucks already," another fan said.

"His teammates also dropped the ball and he was getting bum rushed every play. Also that's literally his first preseason game in the NFL. Besides the fumbles not bad," one fan said.

Ewers' Miami debut was highlighted by a 21-yard pass to running back Alexander Mattison on 3rd-and-6.

Quinn Ewers preseason struggles highlight transition from college stardom to NFL challenge

Quinn Ewers was the first recruit since 2016 to earn a perfect 1.0000 rating in the 247Sports composite and built an impressive legacy at Texas. He led the Longhorns to consecutive national semifinals and posted a 27-9 record. In three years, he amassed 9,128 passing yards, 68 touchdowns and just 24 interceptions.

However, Ewers' preseason debut with the Dolphins told a different story, as he struggled to sustain drives and often appeared rushed in his throws. Such early performances don’t define a quarterback’s career, but consistent struggles could put his roster spot at risk.

Ewers will have another opportunity to rebound when the Dolphins face the Detroit Lions on Saturday, before opening the regular season on Sept. 7 against the Indianapolis Colts.

About the author

Maliha is a High School Sports news and listicles writer at Sportskeeda. A post graduate in Management Information Systems, it was her love for writing and sports which led her down the path of sports content creation. An experienced NBA and NFL writer, she covered the two sports extensively at SportsZion and SportsKnot before joining SportsKeeda.

Maliha is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan and is in awe of quarterback Lamar Jackson's dual-threat abilities. She also admires Tom Brady and her all-time favorite coach is 3-time Super Bowl champion Andy Reid. She is a big advocate of high school sports and believes that elite athletes reach a top level owing to the discipline, hard work, team dynamics, resilience, adaptability and self-confidence learnt by playing sports in high schools. Aaron Rodgers leading the Green Bay Packers to victory on his debut against the Minnesota Vikings is one of her fondest NFL memories.

Maliha places a high emphasis on accuracy in her content. She does thorough research, always double checks facts, and only uses information from most relevant and credible sources for her articles. When not writing, she likes to read history and biographical books.

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