A rocky start to Dolphins’ QB transition to Tagovailoa

The Miami Dolphins’ transition to Tua Tagovailoa didn’t start the way coach Brian Flores intended, and deposed quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said the surprising timing left him heartbroken.

Flores said he regretted that most of his players found out about the change through social media rather than from him, and said benching Fitzpatrick was a difficult decision.

“Fitz has done a great job,” Flores said Wednesday. “But we felt like for the team now, moving forward, this is a move we need to make.”

Tagovailoa, the fifth pick in the April draft, will make his first NFL start on Nov. 1 against the Los Angeles Rams after Miami’s bye this week.

The Dolphins (3-3) have won their past two games by a combined score of 6717, and Fitzpatrick said he was shocked by the timing of his demotion.

“It definitely caught me off guard,” the 16-year veteran said. “It was a hard thing for me to hear. Digesting the news, my heart just hurt all day.

“This eventually was going to happen; it was a matter of when and not if. It’s still a tough thing for me to hear, and to now have to deal with. But I’m going to do my best.”

Flores told Fitzpatrick, 37, and Tagovailoa of his decision Tuesday, but the news leaked before the coach could share it with other players.

“The one thing in this situation that’s unfortunate is that I didn’t get a chance to address the team before this was out in the media,” Flores said. “It’s not the way I or we want to do business.

Unfortunately, it’s kind of the way of the world right now.”

Flores shed little light on his reason to switch quarterbacks now. Tagovailoa made his NFL debut during mop-up time last week, completing both passes in his first action since suffering a serious hip injury last November that ended his Alabama career.”

BELL READY FOR CHIEFS DEBUT >> Le’Veon Bell once carried the ball a league-leading 321 times in a single season for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He doesn’t figure to get nearly as many chances with the Kansas City Chiefs.

That’s just fine with the two-time All-Pro running back, though. Bell has been the focal point of defenses for the majority of his career, whether that was in Pittsburgh or during his short stint with the New York Jets. But now Bell’s on a team with so much offensive firepower that he could only marvel while watching them beat the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.

“I was just like, ‘ This is unbelievable,’” said Bell, who had to return a week’s worth of negative COVID-19 tests before joining his new team. He took the practice field for the first time Wednesday ahead of Sunday’s game in Denver. “I was watching kind of like, ‘As a defense, they’re so tough to stop,’”

JETS QB DARNOLD RETURNS TO PRACTICE >> New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold practiced for the first time since spraining his throwing shoulder and could have a chance to play Sunday against the Bills. Darnold was listed as a limited participant Wednesday. Darnold sprained the AC joint in his right shoulder against Denver on Oct. 1.

“Right now, we’re just saying that all options are available,” coach Adam Gase said.