Fitzpatrick leads QB race, but Rosen has outside shot
DAVIE — Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores did not wait long to name veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick the starting quarterback for their third preseason game. But that does not mean Flores is ready to name Fitzpatrick as the team’s starter going into the 2019 season.
Flores, speaking Monday ahead of Thursday’s home against the Jacksonville Jaguars, said he is still evaluating the position battle between Fitzpatrick and second-year quarterback Josh Rosen as the preseason nears its end.
Fitzpatrick may be in the lead. But Rosen, the No. 10 pick in the 2018 draft that was acquired in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals in April, still has an outside chance to win Flores over.
“I think he has to continue to improve in the things he’s done well, and the things he hasn’t done well. We need to see improvements,” Flores said of Rosen on Monday.
“He can’t take as many sacks as he’s taken in practice and in games. He’s got to step up in the pocket. He’s got to have Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen throws a pass against the Bucs on Friday.
command of the offense. And I think those things are very important at this position. He’s got to get the ball out quicker. He has to do all those things.
“At the end of the day, it’s about our offense moving the ball and putting points on the board.”
Despite playing with the starters during the second preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, Flores quickly demoted Rosen back to the second team after the game.
Flores wants to see Fitzpatrick play with the starters before the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 8 at Hard Rock Stadium.
“I would say we’re going into every game trying to evaluate every player on the team,” Flores said. “I know this is the third preseason game, and the thought is this is the dress rehearsal for regular-season game No. 1. In a lot of ways, it is that. But every game is important to me.”
“I’m going to put the guy who will help us win, who we feel will give us the best chance to win games.”
Fitzpatrick played the first quarter of the first preseason game, and sat behind Rosen during the second preseason game, playing with the secondteam offense in the second half against the Bucs last week.
Overall, Rosen’s preseason statistics fare better than Fitzpatrick’s.
Rosen has completed 23-of-38 passes (60.5 percent) for 293 yards with a 73.7 passer rating, leading the Dolphins on five scoring drives (two touchdowns, three field goals), despite not throwing for a touchdown. Rosen also threw an interception in the preseason opener, and had a turnover on downs during the second game.
Fitzpatrick has completed 5-of-14 passes (35.7 percent) for 40 yards with no touchdowns or no interceptions. He led only one scoring drive during his first series against the Falcons in the opener. But with more playing time for Rosen comes more criticism from Flores.
Flores reiterated Rosen needs to get rid of the football quicker to give the offense a better chance to execute behind their inexperienced offensive line, featuring rookie starters Michael Deiter and Shaq Calhoun, and veteran Jesse Davis playing a new position at right tackle.
“Sometimes the right play is to take a sack — you have to know when the journey is over. Other times, you got to get the ball out quicker,” Flores said. There’s a fine line between all those things, and it’s something we talk about all the time in the quarterback room.
“We don’t want to just take sack after sack after sack,” Flores added. “We can help that by getting the ball out a little quicker, stepping up into the pocket, and that’s about footwork and fundamentals.”
During Monday’s short portion of practice open to the media, Fitzpatrick was again lined up as the first quarterback in the position group, ahead of Rosen and third-string quarterback Jake Rudock.
The Dolphins will game plan for the Jaguars game with Fitzpatrick as the starter.
And if Fitzpatrick outperforms Rosen, Flores could very well name his starting quarterback after the game — more than two weeks before the regularseason opener.
But — like Flores — let’s not get too far ahead of schedule.
“We’ll have most of the evaluation done, so potentially we could make that call. But we may not,” Flores said.