Josh Rosen understandably was happy about the vote of confidence he got from Head Coach Brian Flores on Wednesday and he's looking forward to validating that endorsement.
Flores said during his pre-practice press conference that the quarterback situation was "settled," with the team moving forward with Rosen as the starter.
"I think it's awesome, but you can never treat it like that," Rosen said after practice. "I've heard guys like Tom (Brady) mention he feels like he's competing against someone every day, and that's the sort of attitude that you have to have in order to continue to improve. It might be a settled competition, but in my head I'm always trying to sort of act as if someone is behind me every single day."
Veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick started the first two games of the season at quarterback for the Dolphins, with Rosen getting action off the bench both times. The change to Rosen as the starter was made late in the week of practice before the game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 22.
Rosen said Flores' declaration helped in terms of not having to look over his shoulder, though he said he's never really worried about things like that.
"I'm a pretty sort of free spirit, but like I kind of just go out there, have fun and do my thing," Rosen said. "Football is football. I try to stay as removed from the politics as I possibly can."
In his two starts, Rosen completed 35 of 63 passes (55.6 percent) for 380 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Beyond just the stats, Flores said he's seen weekly improvement from Rosen.
"I think he's a young, talented player, and I think he needs to get in there and develop and get reps and just improve," Flores said. "When he's scrambling and if he can throw the ball away, that would be an improvement. It's something we've talked about a lot and hopefully if I say it to you guys, maybe he'll listen, but that's something (to improve) — amongst a lot of other things. Just decision-making, accuracy and making good decisions. I like where Josh is and hopefully he just continues to improve today, tomorrow and over the course of the season."
Center Daniel Kilgore said he's also seen Rosen getting more and more comfortable as the weeks go by.
"It's getting better day in and day out, his command," Kilgore said. "The more comfortable he gets, the better the offense will be. But I think it's huge for them to come out and say that and to let Josh (know) … 'OK, I know that. OK, we're moving forward. It's off my back.' And the fact that Fitz is still right there helping him along the way, it's huge."
Rosen, who was acquired on the second night of the 2019 NFL Draft in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals on the one-year anniversary of being the 10th overall selection in the 2018 draft, is hoping to help the Dolphins win in the immediate future while at the same time showing the organization he's the long-term answer at quarterback.
"The way that I'm sort of approaching this year is I feel like I'm really just trying out for the team," Rosen said. "I feel like I'm auditioning and I'm trying to put my best foot forward and prove to everyone upstairs and Coach Flo and Mr. (Chris) Grier that I'm the man moving forward. I don't know, it's a different circumstance than what other quarterbacks are put in but it's the one I've been given and I'm taking it in full stride and I'm excited to hopefully prove over these next 12 more weeks that I'm their guy moving forward."
