Brian Flores October 29 Takeaways

Before the Miami Dolphins practiced at the Baptist Health Training Complex on Friday, head coach Brian Flores conducted a press conference.

Here were the highlights of that session:

-- Jerome Baker and DeVante Parker are both moving in the right direction, but Friday will be telling in terms of their game status.

-- Asked about making a definitive statement regarding trade rumors, Flores says he doesn't engage in trade rumors and repeats, "Tua is our quarterback."

-- Flores says he can declare definitely that Tua is the quarterback for the rest of 2021 barring injuries.

-- Duke Johnson is more of a third-down back, while Gerrid Doaks is more of an early-down back is how Flores describes two of the running back options to replace Malcolm Brown.

-- Johnson has done a nice job the last couple of days and is an experienced guy who's played a lot of football, but he could benefit from more time with the team. That said, he shouldn't be eliminated from possibly playing Sunday.

-- Pass protection was a major issue in the first game against Buffalo, and Flores says there's been a lot of emphasis this week about making sure that's taking care of in the rematch.

-- Will Fuller has yet to be designated for return and is still working his way back.

-- Tua has done a lot of good things the last couple of weeks and is trying to build on that. "He's always going to be hard on himself."

-- The coaches are telling Tua every day not to try to force something that's not there, but Flores says he's made a lot of good decisions the last couple of weeks.