Flores tells why Rosen won’t start home finale
DAVIE — Josh Rosen may be under contract with the Miami Dolphins for two more seasons, but his future with the franchise may not extend past this year.
Dolphins coach Brian Flores has reiterated to exhaustion that Rosen, a second-year quarterback, does not give his team the best chance to win compared to 15-year veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Flores repeated that Fitzpatrick will start over Rosen when the Dolphins (3-11) play their final home game of the season on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals (1-13) — a game where a victory could put Miami outside of a top three pick in the 2020 NFL draft.
While Flores also praised Rosen for improving in practice since being benched in Week 6 after three starts, Flores said Wednesday he couldn’t approach his Dolphins players and tell them he will bench Fitzpatrick to start Rosen.
“I think, and this is philosophically, I think people are going to feel differently about it, but I think anytime, you always want to try to win and give yourself the best opportunity to win,” Flores said. “I think it’s easy for people to sit and say, ‘Hey, you should do this and that or this and that.’ I don’t think those same people would stand in front of that group and say, ‘Hey, this is in the best interest of the team to win this week.’
“That’s not a knock on Josh,” Flores continued. “Maybe you think that’s in the best interest, but you’re not in front of this team every day. You’re not in the trenches and a lot of people aren’t. Those are decisions we have to make … and we feel like it’s the best thing to do.”
If Rosen playing is not in the best interest of the Dolphins, sitting at 3-11 during their rebuilding effort, Rosen may not have a place with the franchise after all.
Trading for Rosen during the 2019 NFL draft, in exchange for a second- and fifth-round pick, may have proved to be a failed experiment in one of the first major decisions Flores and general manager Chris Grier made.
Rosen has played sparingly since his final start against the Washington Redskins on Oct. 13, a game which Fitzpatrick entered in the fourth quarter and led a comeback effort that ended in a 17-16 loss.
Fitzpatrick has started in nine consecutive games since then, completing 61.6% of his passes all season for 2,790 yards and 15 touchdowns despite 12 interceptions. He is also Miami’s leading rusher with 219 yards this season.
“I like the decision he made to have me out there,” Fitzpatrick said of Flores. “I’ve tried to be consistent and the best version of myself every week. I’m happy to be out there Sunday, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Dolphins players continue to rally around Fitzpatrick in a way they are unable to with Rosen, which Flores emphasized.
“I understand the question with Josh and Fitz. Josh has done a lot of great things in practice. He really has. … At the end of the day, Fitz has played well and he’s got a rapport with the team — and not that Josh doesn’t. Josh does as well and he’s building from that standpoint, whether it’s with the scout team or when he gets his team reps in practice they’ve been good and you can see the improvement.
“But I just feel like going with Fitz is the best thing for us to win the game or to try and win the game on Sunday. For Josh and the steps he’s got to take [to improve], he’s taken those steps and, I think, in due time, he’ll get that opportunity.”
What is due time, according to Flores, with only two games left this season?
Unless Rosen plays against the Bengals, he could play in some capacity during the season finale on the road against the New England Patriots, who handed Miami a 43-0 loss in Week 2 of the season. Beyond this season? Rosen, the No. 10 pick in 2018 by the Arizona Cardinals, is under contract with the Dolphins for two more seasons. He is owed $2,070,769 in 2020 and $2,879,694 in 2021, which are both fully guaranteed.
Fitzpatrick is also under contract next season, too. He will finish a two-year deal worth $11 million he signed last offseason.
And the Dolphins intend to draft a potential franchise-altering quarterback in April.
Flores did not sound convincing when asked if Rosen is part of the team’s future plans.
“I mean Josh Rosen is a very talented player. We all know that. And I think he’s making a lot of improvement, like I’ve been saying the last few weeks,” Flores said. “Yeah, I do. So, we’ll see where it goes. But right now, for this team, we’re going to play Fitz.”