Jaguars make trade, acquiring quarterback from 2025 draft class

The Jacksonville Jaguars have made a late NFL roster move, adding another quarterback to their room just one day before teams must trim their rosters to 53 players.

Jacksonville has acquired Quinn Ewers from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2028 NFL Draft, pending a physical.

Jaguars add another option behind Trevor Lawrence

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) greets Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) after the game of an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

Ewers, 23, was selected by Miami in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft after a standout college career at Texas. He appeared in four games for the Dolphins as a rookie, making three starts after Miami benched Tua Tagovailoa late in the season.

In those appearances, Ewers completed 55 of 83 passes for 622 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions, finishing with a 66.3% completion rate.

Now, he'll head to Jacksonville and compete for a backup role behind Trevor Lawrence.

The Jaguars already had veteran Nick Mullens, Carter Bradley and rookie Joey Aguilar behind Lawrence, so Ewers' arrival creates an interesting situation with the roster deadline approaching.

Ewers gets another chance to prove himself

Jan 4, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers (14) looks to hand the ball off to a teammate against the New England Patriots during the first quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images

Ewers entered the 2026 offseason with an opportunity to compete for Miami's backup job, but the Dolphins signed Malik Willis and ultimately moved in a different direction.

His preseason didn't help his case. Ewers completed just 1-of-8 passes for 27 yards and an interception in Miami's preseason opener before suffering a groin injury that kept him out of the team's next two games.

The Jaguars, however, apparently saw enough from Ewers' rookie season to make the move.

His college résumé remains impressive. At Texas, Ewers threw for 9,128 yards and 68 touchdowns while helping the Longhorns reach the College Football Playoff semifinals in consecutive seasons.

Jacksonville isn't giving up much to find out whether some of that potential can translate to the NFL.

A sixth-round pick in 2028 is a relatively small price for a 23-year-old quarterback with starting experience, particularly for a team that has legitimate postseason aspirations and needs reliable insurance behind its franchise quarterback.