October 22, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores announced a switch at the quarterback position on Wednesday. Rookie Tua Tagovailoa will take the controls of a 3-3 Dolphins football team currently one game back of the AFC East leading Buffalo Bills. Wednesday, Flores, Tagovailoa and Ryan Fitzpatrick addressed the switch, the relationship between the two quarterbacks, and what this means moving forward.
They Said It
Name any role that an NFL quarterback could possibly undertake and Ryan Fitzpatrick has lived it. Backup, starter, playing on one-year contracts and long-term deals – he's seen it all in his 16-year career. He understands the shift in his role now as the backup to Tagovailoa.
"I know how difficult it is to play quarterback and how important it is to have everyone in that room pull in the same direction," Fitzpatrick said. "I'll have some time to get away and digest it a little bit, but when this thing starts up agai,n I have to do my best for Tua."
That level of experience is not lost on Tagovailoa. Wednesday, he expressed how valuable Fitzpatrick has been in the acceleration of his learning curve during this rookie season.
"I think with having someone like 'Fitz,' you just don't think within what you know," Tagovailoa said. "You start thinking of what other people are doing, the defense, how they align to stack formations, how fronts can dictate coverages. Just things that I didn't really need to worry about in college, that I think of now."
Around the Beat
ESPN's Cameron Wolfe detailed Ryan Fitzpatrick's comments on Wednesday after the decision became public that the Dolphins were going with Tagovailoa.
"Obviously we've talked in the past, me and you guys, about how I'm the placeholder and this eventually was going to happen," Fitzpatrick added. "It was just a matter of kind of when, not if. It still just ... it broke my heart yesterday. It's a tough thing for me to hear and to now have to deal with, but I'm going to do my best with it."
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On this Day in Dolphins History
October 22, 2017 – The Dolphins mount a comeback, win over the Jets, 31-28, to improve to 4-2 on the season. Miami fell behind 28-14 late in the third before quarterback Matt Moore came off the bench to throw two touchdown passes to Kenny Stills. After a Bobby McCain interception, Cody Parkey connected on a 39-yard field goal to give the Dolphins their third straight win.
Stat of the Day
During his three years at Alabama, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa posted a passer rating of 199.4, the best career rating in the history of college football (min. 325 pass completions).
Content On Tap
If you missed the Emmanuel Ogbah exclusive, check out MiamiDolphins.com and Drive Time with Travis Wingfield to hear about Miami's leading sack man and the inspiration behind his tireless work ethic.
Plus, no podcast today, but Drive Time returns on Friday for a special crossover edition with The Audible co-host, John Congemi.
