Dolphins Sticking With Fitzpatrick ... As They Should

Another year, another set of weekly questions about who the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback will be.

It's getting to be a ritual in Miami in the early stages of a season, and so it was that head coach Brian Flores was asked Monday whether Ryan Fitzpatrick would remain his starter for the Week 2 game against the Buffalo Bills.

As expected, Flores confirmed that, yes, Fitzpatrick will make his second start of the season.

The question came because of the infatuation with rookie first-round pick Tua Tagovailoa, who ideally will be the face of the franchise for the next decade. It also came because Fitzpatrick had a really poor stat line in the 21-11 season-opening loss at New England on Sunday, though his numbers were skewed by circumstances beyond his control.

To wit, Fitzpatrick threw three interceptions, but one came when cornerback Stephon Gilmore bumped Preston Williams off the target area and was there to catch Fitzpatrick pass and another came when New England got away with a fairly obvious defensive pass interference that prevented tight end Mike Gesicki from catching the ball.

Fitzpatrick wasn't great against New England. He probably wasn't even good.

But it's too early to put Tagovailoa in the lineup based on what we saw during the practices open to the media.

The idea that he would come in and light it up on offense immediately simply is not realistic and the Dolphins are better off sticking with Fitzpatrick for the time being. Once the Dolphins reach the point where they feel Tagovailoa gives them an equal or better chance to win, then that would be the obvious time to make a switch.

It's not that different from last year when the Dolphins decided to make Fitzpatrick the opening-day starter after he beat out Josh Rosen in training camp. Because of Fitzpatrick's age, the fact that Rosen was one year removed from being a first-round pick and the fact the Dolphins clearly were rebuilding, it made sense to want to see Rosen in the lineup sooner rather than later.

But we all saw what happened when Rosen did get his chance.

This isn't to suggest that's what going to happen when Tagovailoa gets his shot or that he'll flop, but rather that there's merit to being patient and not making a move because the fans want it or because it seems like the logical thing to do.

Bottom line: It has to make sense. And for the Dolphins, it still makes sense at this time to go with Fitzpatrick as their starting quarterback.

Tua's time will come. It's just not that time yet.

Add us as a preferred source on Google