Miami's revolving door at quarterback has taken many twists and turns over the past several weeks, with a former Hawkeye right in the middle of it.
After going undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft, former Hawkeye QB Mark Gronowski was a heavily pursued undrafted free agent (UDFA) before he signed with the Miami Dolphins. He reportedly struggled throughout the summer and was waived before the Dolphins' first preseason game. Gronowski quickly re-signed with the organization after the first preseason game, but is once again on the outside looking in.
The Miami Dolphins have waived Gronowski for the second time
The Dolphins organization was at a crossroads when they decided not to move forward with former starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The oft-injured quarterback was in the midst of his worst season as a pro, and he was benched for the final three games of the 2025-2026 season. After the season, the Dolphins decided to release Tagovailoa, taking a $99.2 million dead cap hit in order to move on from him. During the offseason, the Dolphins immediately jumped on signing former Green Bay Packers backup QB Malik Willis to a three-year contract as a stopgap starter for the next few seasons.
With Willis locked in as the starter, the Dolphins struggled to find a consistent backup, with Quinn Ewers, Cam Miller, and Gronowski struggling to capture the backup role. Gronowski and Miller were both waived and resigned, but that didn't last long, as both are once again on the outside looking in.
The #Dolphins are waiving QB Mark Gronowski but will bring him back to the practice squad if he clears waivers.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 30, 2026
That leaves Malik Willis as the only QB on the roster as of now. pic.twitter.com/stmUkbY0t7
According to ESPN's Mike Garafolo, the Dolphins waived Gronowski as a part of the 53-man roster cut-downs, but want to sign him to the practice squad if he clears waivers. Before Gronowski was waived, the Dolphins traded Quinn Ewers to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and also traded a 2028 sixth-round pick to the Green Bay Packers for quarterback Kyle McCord. McCord is essentially locked in as the Dolphins backup for the 2026-2027 unless the orgnaization makes more moves, but that gives Gronowski as chance to explore his options elsewhere, while also knowing the Dolphins want to bring him back in some capacity.
Gronowski was a long shot to make an NFL roster after going undrafted, but the Dolphins really didn't give him a fair chance. He was signed and waived twice already, and it might be in his best interest to look for a better opportunity after how the Dolphins treated him. At the end of the day, the NFL is a business, and if Gronowski played well enough to make a roster, there is no doubt he would still be with the Dolphins or a different organization.
For now, Gronowski can continue exploring his options, and if he clears waivers without being signed, Miami has clearly stated they will re-sign him. This is definitely not the end of Gronowski's NFL career, and hopefully he can find the right fit, whether that's a third reunion with Miami or elsewhere. Gronowski has said that he developed a good relationship with the Miami organization, and if nothng else shakes out, we could easily see him back with the organization very soon.
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