Flores 'Excited to Work With Tua'

Brian Flores has to be aware of all the speculation that's been swirling this offseason around the Miami Dolphins quarterback situation.

But when he was asked about it Thursday, his response was quick and to the point.

“My reaction is, I'm excited to work with Tua," Flores said during a Zoom media session. "That's where my interests are. That's where my excitement is. Like I said, I think he's a talented player. We here believe in developing players at all positions. I think with an offseason, with some OTAs with more reps, more repetitions like any player, they develop and get and get better. And I think he feels the same way.”

Tua, of course, is Tua Tagovailoa, the team's first pick in the 2020 NFL draft who went 6-3 as a starter after taking over in Week 7, though he failed to put up big passing statistics.

It's not even so much because of Tagovailoa that the quarterback situation has become a hot topic in Miami, but rather because of the situation in Houston involving three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson and his request to be traded.

Flores' focus at this time is on the players currently on his roster, and that obviously includes Tagovailoa.

“Yeah, I mean I'm excited about Tua in this upcoming season," Flores said. "You think about his situation last year coming off the hip, kind of threw him in the fire there. I thought he made a lot of improvement really throughout the course of the season. Had some ups, had some downs, like all the rookies and like any rookie.

"But I'm really excited about that year 1 to year 2 jump, being more comfortable even down here in South Florida. He’s got a place. Look, that rookie year you got a lot going on. You've got to get a house, you've got to get a car, you gotta move to a whole new city. I mean, there's so many things that are going on. I thought he handled it well last year, but I'm really excited about this upcoming year. I think this time, an offseason is really going to be helpful to him and really all the rookies. I'm really excited about working with them this offseason.”

Flores indicated he had lunch Wednesday with Tagovailoa, who recently turned 23 years old.

"We talked about his family," Flores said. "I think a lot of that development is about building relationships. He's doing well. He's confident. I'm confident in him. I'm really looking forward to this offseason."