Dolphins going with veteran QB
Miami will start Fitzpatrick over rookie Tagovailoa in NFL opener.
It’s not Tua time, just yet, for the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins will go with wily veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starting quarterback for their season-opening matchup on the road against the New England Patriots, coach Brian Flores announced Monday.
Both teams will open their seasons on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
“I mean this isn’t groundbreaking news, but Fitz is going to be the starter,” Flores said. “He’s done a good job through the course of training camp, and he’ll be out there.”
With the NFL affected by COVID-19, leading to no offseason training activities and a late start to training camp, which included an extensive ramp up period before 11-on-11 football activity could begin, the Dolphins decided to begin the season with their experienced quarterback instead of their prized rookie.
So for now, Fitzpatrick will begin his 16th NFL season as a starting quarterback for a young Dolphins team that has rookie Tua Tagovailoa waiting in the wings.
“Last year’s play, and this year’s preparation and play played a lot into the decision,” Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said of Fitzpatrick.
Tagovailoa, the Dolphins’ top pick in April, made it through his first NFL training camp, appearing to show no lingering effects from the gruesome hip injury he sustained 10 months ago in November.
While Tagovailoa appears healthy, the Dolphins do not appear in a rush to unleash their potential franchise quarterback just yet.
But Tagovailoa’s standing as the No. 2 quarterback speaks vol
umes to his hip recovery.
Tagovailoa’s eventual debut could come late in a game in relief of Fitzpatrick, or in the event the Dolphins elevate him as the starter over Fitzpatrick.
“We’re going to do what we feel best to try to win a game. That’s going to be our approach every week,” Flores said of his quarterback situation and the possibility of Tagovailoa getting some playing time behind Fitzpatrick.
“I would say if young players get reps in a game, that’s good. And if they only get reps at practice, then that’s what it is.”
For Flores and the Dolphins, it’s easy to justify starting Fitzpatrick, a veteran with 139 starts despite his 55-83-1 record, over Tagovailoa, a first-year player who has only six weeks of experience from his first NFL training camp.
Fitzpatrick, the only Dolphins player more than 30 years old at 37, became the team’s undisputed leader when he led Miami to five wins in the final nine games last season.
Fitzpatrick’s experience bodes well with the younger players he leads on both sides of the ball, particularly on offense where the Dolphins could start at least two rookie offensive linemen in the season opener.
Fitzpatrick’s knowledge of the game has also matured with time, which allowed Dolphins players like receivers DeVante Parker and Preston Williams, and tight end Mike Gesicki to develop into valuable playmakers for the team.
“His leadership is unbelievable. His understanding of the game is right up there with the best,” Gailey said of Fitzpatrick, his starter in previous stints with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills.
“He understands what we’re trying to do, and what the defense is trying to do. And it gives any quarterback a leg up when you can do that.”
Fitzpatrick completed 62% of his passes for 3,529 yards and 20 touchdowns with 13 interceptions in 13 starts for the Dolphins last season. He also led the team with 243 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns.
Three of Fitzpatrick’s best individual performances last season all came at Hard Rock Stadium, where he threw three touchdowns in the first win of the season against the New York Jets in Week 9, three touchdowns in a win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13, and a four-touchdown day in an overtime win against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15.
Fitzpatrick also ended the season with a gamewinning touchdown pass to Gesicki, to give the Dolphins a 27-24 victory over the Patriots for Miami’s first win in New England in 11 years.
The victory spoiled Tom Brady’s final regular-season game as a Patriot and New England’s chance at a first-round playoff bye. The Patriots were eliminated in the first game of the playoffs by former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans, ending Brady and Bill Bellichick’s 20-year dominance in the AFC East.
Now, Fitzpatrick will lead the Dolphins into New England as Miami hopes to pull off an upset win once again over its biggest rival.
“He loves the game. He’s a competitor and he wants to win,” Gailey said of Fitzpatrick. “And when you have a competitor at quarterback, that goes a long way.”