Rosen working to find his place
It’s awkward, but Rosen working to find his place between Fitzpatrick, Tagovailoa
Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen throws during practice on Friday.
Deep down, it seems knows his fate.
Rosen, the third-year NFL quarterback entering his second season with the Miami Dolphins, is on the outside looking in of a position battle he virtually has no chance of winning.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, the NFL veteran entering his 16th season, is expected to be Miami’s starter when the Dolphins’ season begins on the road against the New England Patriots on Sept. 13.
Tua Tagovailoa, the lefty sensation and team’s top pick in April’s NFL draft, is the heir to the starting job and the franchise.
And Rosen, the former No. 10 pick casted away by the Arizona Cardinals after they like
Josh
Rosen already drafted Kyler Murray, is an outsider again, biding his time before his next opportunity to showcase his talent and improvement arises.
“I was drafted in the first round and I think around the league, people still think I can play to a certain extent. Just whenever that opportunity comes, wherever it comes, I just want to be prepared for it because they’re few and far between,” Rosen said Tuesday in his first interview with Dolphins media since last season.
“I didn’t do great with the two [opportunities to start] that I already had. Not many people get third chances, so I’m definitely going to seize the opportunity when it comes.”
You would think Rosen would be bitter about his circumstance. Unless he’s a great actor, that doesn’t seem the case.
Rosen has not requested to be traded. After all, he knows he has little to no leverage to initiate such a move. That didn’t stop the Dolphins from reportedly taking calls from other teams about his availability this offseason.
Rosen’s potential trade value, which could be a third-day draft pick, could rise if another team loses their starting quarterback before the season starts. Trading Rosen may also reflect poorly on the Dolphins’ front office for a bad trade after sending two draft picks to Arizona for him.
But the Dolphins are hanging onto Rosen for now. He’s under a rookie contract, owed roughly $2 million this season.
If Fitzpatrick sustains an injury and/or Miami is not ready unleash Tagovailoa, Rosen’s availability could be vital for the Dolphins this season.
Unless those situations arise, however, it’s difficult to envision Rosen’s opportunity coming in Miami with the limited repetitions he gets in Dolphins practices. This week alone, Rosen threw only eight passes — all of them complete — during the 11-on-11 portions of practice.
The bulk of the snaps have gone to Fitzpatrick, who knows offensive coordinator Chan Gailey’s offense intimately after being paired for five years together previously, and Tagovailoa, whose recovered hip has allowed him to hit the ground running as a rookie in the NFL.
Unfortunately for Rosen, he is awkwardly the odd man out of the Dolphins quarterback rotation — although he is trying his best not to be.
“I’m just trying to put the best product of Josh Rosen on the field that I can,” he said. “It doesn’t really do well to focus on much else.”
Both
Fitzpatrick and
Tagovailoa have
shared their affections for one another during their brief time together at teammates.
Fitzpatrick has already acknowledged he is biding his time, keeping the starting quarterback seat warm for Tagovailoa. He referred to himself as the placeholder. And when Tagovailoa takes his place, Fitzpatrick said he will be the young quarterback’s biggest cheerleader.
Tagovailoa is grateful to learn from Fitzpatrick. He is awed by Fitzpatrick’s humble, easy-going and funny demeanor and how freely the veteran just wants to share his knowledge and expertise.
Tagovailoa even wore a Fitzpatrick Dolphins jersey during a recent interview, hoping it would break the ice for his time with the media.
Rosen has tried his best to fit Dolphins’ quarterback room, too.
During practice, Rosen and Tagovailoa share some conversation on how plays unfold for them on the field. It’s an extension of a relationship they formed after playing each other in a high school game in 2014, and nearly attending the same college before Tagovailoa picked Alabama instead of UCLA.
Rosen is also “treasuring the moments” of his opportunity to keep learning from Fitzpatrick, which includes watching old in the
film of Fitzpatrick in Gailey’s offense the New York Jets five years ago.
Still, Rosen remains on the outside, leaning in, waiting to perfectly time his entrance into the Double Dutch that is the Dolphins quarterback competition, trying to make the most of his time with the team — however long that may be.
“I don’t really know when or where. Hopefully this year, here, I’ll get a shot to play,” Rosen said. “But I’m just trying to focus on preparing for that shot as best as I can.”
Rosen’s first shot saw him finish with a 3-10 record as a starter during his rookie season in Arizona. The Cardinals, also abysmal in other areas, earned the No. 1 pick, making Rosen expendable.
With the Dolphins, Rosen started in three games ahead of Fitzpatrick last season, fairing worst. He lost all three games and could not get the offense moving in a Week 6 matchup against the Washington football team, which ended with Fitzpatrick leading a two-touchdown comeback that fell short on a failed two-point conversion.
Rosen said that game, and his inherent benching, forced him to undergo a “big mirror reality check.” He turned inwards to figure out what he could do better. And he realized he needed to absorb as much as
with
possible from Fitzpatrick, who he considers “one of the best minds to ever do it” to grow as a quarterback.
During this training camp, Rosen says he feels more comfortable behind center. He is doing a better job of applying his film study on the field, eliminating defenders before the snap, zeroing in quicker on teammates he wants to throw the ball to, and making faster decisions with the football after the snap.
Rosen insists improving his game with the Dolphins means more entering his third season than the opportunity to start again. So much so that his development gives him peace despite his standing behind Fitzpatrick and Tagovailoa in the Dolphins quarterback competition.
Rosen hopes whenever the opportunity comes again for him to play — whether in Miami or elsewhere — his improved performance will change the outlook of his career.
“I’ve got a lot of work to do, but I think I’ve only scratched the surface with what I can do,” Rosen said.
“I guess the reason that I’m sort of positive outside of this situation is because really all I can control is my development, and I think that’s going in a good direction and … I’m doing well.”